Stay
by IceFire9
Summary: Marco has been Star's closest friend, assistant, and advisor for three years. Living with his unavailable crush was hard, but he endured it for Star's sake. She needed him, so he stayed. With Tom and Star's engagement, Marco realizes that its time. He needs to leave.
1. Chapter 1

**Stay**

 **Chapter 1**

If his three years on Mewni had taught Marco anything, it was how to look on the bright side. He'd actually learned that lesson in his first few months, putting aside his emotional turmoil and enjoying the soulrise with Kelly.

He wasn't unhappy.

The first few months were the worst. It wasn't just coming to terms with his feelings for Star and the fact that she'd apparently gotten over him. He'd been dealing with the lack of acceptance from the knights and squires and struggling to work out just how he fit in this new life as Star's squire.

There were more than a few nights where Marco had wondered if coming to Mewni was the right choice after all, and several times where he wondered if he should just take Tad's advice and leave.

But it never took much for him push those thoughts aside- just remembering how worn and tired Star had looked when he'd left her to work with Hekapoo, how without him she might _still_ be trapped in the realm of magic.

She needed him. Maybe not like he wanted, but she _did_ need him. Nearly every major decision she made, she ran by him. He'd helped her organize balls and helped her on adventures, all while being her emotional support and babysitting one of most important magical beings in existence.

All right, maybe he was glorifying the last one a bit.

Regardless, Marco knew he couldn't leave Star while she needed him- not while he could make her happy. So he suppressed his feelings as well as he could, and focused on being the best squire and the best friend he possibly could.

Once Star ascended to the throne- things changed. At first she was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of responsibilities thrust on her- too much for one person. So Marco stepped in, organizing paperwork, doing the background research for everything that came onto Star's agenda, and typing out summaries of his findings.

He'd jumped into it with enthusiasm- perhaps too much so. Sometime during the second week he'd found himself in bed with no clue how he'd gotten there. Star was sitting at his bedside, going through a stack of papers that Marco must have been working on. She proceeded to chide him for working himself into the ground- apparently when she'd found him he'd been so strung out on caffeine and lack of sleep that he was convinced he could 'see the lines of the universe'.

"I'm sorry, Star. I just really wanted to help you. I know how hard all of this has been for you." He'd apologized, feeling miserable that he was being a burden on her.

"I know, Marco. But that doesn't mean you should run yourself into the ground. I can't have my bestie going insane on me, can I?" Her tone was tender yet teasing, and Marco felt his heart warmed. She'd taken the time to sit by his side while he slept. She had been worried about him. Of course she had- he was her best friend.

Marco had resolved to be more responsible after that, and thankfully after the first few weeks everything went much smoother. His organization system worked like a well-oiled machine, and as he learned more about Mewni- and politics and economics in general- he needed to do less research for everything.

He was honestly brimming with pride at what he'd accomplished- if only he could find someone who could really appreciate the beauty of his system. Sure, Star was grateful for his help, but her passion was far more for people than papers.

She'd taken to the responsibility of being queen in many ways- negotiating with other royals, holding town halls, working with the magical high commission and fixing any magical problems, spearheading projects to integrate monsters and mewmans. The work Marco did, while important, was much less glamorous. He didn't blame anyone for not caring about whatever trade deal he used as precedent when writing up a template for today's agreement, or how he managed to streamline the shipment of corn across the kingdom. That didn't stop him from sometimes wishing he got a bit more recognition.

Marco wasn't unhappy, though. That was something he told himself repeatedly.

He had Star, the Queen of Mewni, as his best friend. Tom was a good friend. Kelly and Tad had been great to him the past few years. He'd patched things up with Hekapoo and even did missions with her on occasion. He loved babysitting his little brother. He was practically the school mascot for St. Olga's, and had helped the school overhaul itself. He was proud of his work as Star's assistant and advisor- even if he felt a little unappreciated for it.

An outside observer would say that he had a good life- they might even say that he was lucky.

If only he weren't in love with his best friend. Marco wasn't unhappy, but if he was being honest with himself, he wasn't happy either.

Eventually, inevitably, things came to a head.

Star had been mysteriously absent from dinner in the castle that evening. Not too unusual- though Marco was used to knowing the reason, since he did maintain her schedule. A sliver of worry wormed its way into Marco's gut, but he brushed it off. Star could take care of herself.

Marco distracted himself by starting a conversation with Higgs (now a proper knight), which inevitably ended as a verbal sparring match. She always bested him, but had become much more merciful in victory over the years. One might even say that she was fond of him- not that she'd admit it.

When dinner finished, Marco decided it was time to text Star. He didn't want to be 'a Marco' but it _was_ friendship Thursday, a tradition that they'd kept alive for almost four years now, Star should have there by now. He never got the chance to finish his text, however, because as he was walking back to his room he heard the familiar shout of his name.

"MARCO!"

Marco whirled around to find Star, who was literally bouncing with happiness and dragging behind her a bemused looking Tom.

"MARCO! YoullneverguesswhatjusthappenedImsohappyTomjustaskedmetomarryhim!" The words spilled out of her mouth, but Marco still was able to catch the gist of them. Even if he hadn't understood her, the opulent ruby ring that now had a place on her finger would have tipped Marco off.

Marco felt like he just took a knife to the chest. He forced the fakest smile of his life onto his face, and dragged Star into a hug so she wouldn't see through it. "That's incredible!" He said, hoping the searing pain in his chest, which was quickly burning its way up to his throat, didn't show in his voice. He quickly turned to Tom and gave him a back-thumping hug "Congratulations, guys."

"Anyway, Tom and I were going to go out to celebrate! But I just remembered that it _is_ friendship Thursday so we figured you could come with, if you wanted?" Star was asking for both of them, but it was clear by Tom's expression that she was the driving force behind this offer. The blonde sharply elbowed the demon prince, who winced and added.

"Uh, yeah, totally! You're our best friend, and we'd love to have you." Tom piped in dutifully.

The knife in Marco's chest twisted. Star had no way of knowing that Marco would rather spend his night in the Forest of Certain Death than spend it watching Star and Tom celebrate their engagement.

"Thanks guys, but I'd rather not. Tonight should be about the two of you, and honestly I'd probably only end up as a third wheel." Marco's voice cracked a bit, and he wished he hadn't added the last part.

"You wouldn't, Marco!" Star protested, and Tom countered "Yeah, he would."

"Look, we can hang out later, enjoy your night." Marco said quickly, turning on his heel and walking _away_ as fast as he could.

"Look see, he doesn't want to go, now let's just…" Tom's voice faded as Marco made his escape. Too late, he realized that he was going in exactly the wrong direction to get back to his room. There was nothing for it; he didn't want to run into Star and Tom again, so he'd just have to wander around for a few minutes before he could finally hide in the privacy of his room.

 _You're such an idiot, Diaz._ He berated himself. _Pining after her for all these years, you're pathetic. Why can't you just get over her?_

But Marco knew exactly why he couldn't get over her; he could spend hours listing the reasons why he couldn't get over her. Star was practically a force of nature; her passion for life had left Marco reeling at first, and still awed him to this day. She was as at home wrestling some beast into the mud as she was dancing at a royal ball. She cared so much, for her friends, for her kingdom… and for Marco as well. She always thought of him- like just now, even though she was over the moon after Tom's proposal, she hadn't forgotten him. Sometimes she prioritized Tom, or their other friends, but she always made sure to make it up to him later.

There were times, often on their friendship Thursdays when it was just the two of them, where Marco felt such a profound connection to her. He'd look into her eyes, and she'd look back, and he swore that the Blood Moon bond was more than just wishful thinking on his part. He felt like he understood her in a way he would never know anyone else. He felt like she understood him just as well. They just _got_ each other. It reminded him of the old days, when it was just Star and Marco against the forces of evil. They were a team, and they'd always have each other's backs.

Always.

But the illusion was shattered. What Tom had said, that he was ' _their_ best friend', stung more than Marco had expected. Star and Tom were the team. It was Star and Tom versus the world and what was Marco, Marco-

"Hey! Watch it nerd!" Higgs' voice cut through Marco's spiral of angst. For a moment, Marco thought he'd actually run into her and hadn't noticed, but quickly realized she was taking the mickey. Her expression, however, had quickly morphed from mischievous to downright concerned "Hey, dude, are you alright?"

God, he must look like a wreck right now for _Higgs_ of all people to be worried for him. Was there even a point to lying?

"No." He said shortly, honestly the last thing he needed now was Higgs' brand of cheek and attitude.

If he weren't an emotional mess, he might have laughed at how uncomfortable Higgs looked at the prospect of offering any sort of emotional support. "Uh, do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm not particularly in the mood to be called a pathetic loser, so no." Marco replied dryly.

Higgs protested "Hey! I'm not about to make fun of you _now_. It's no fun kicking someone when they're down. Anyway, I can guess. Star, right?"

"That obvious?" Marco asked.

"Dude, the only person here who doesn't know about your path- your crush on Star, is Star herself. I honestly don't know why you stick around."

"Star needs me." Marco said simply. He wasn't in the mood to explain in detail, but Higgs was bright enough to pick up on what he meant.

"Does she though?" She asked "I mean yeah, I'm sure the stuff you do is 'important', or whatever. But do you really think that _no one else_ could do it?"

"Well-"

"And yeah, I know you're her best friend and junk, but she has like a dozen other friends, and a boyfriend, I'm pretty sure she'd be alright without you."

Marco was speechless. What Higgs was saying was _really_ hard for him to take, but maybe it was true. Did Star really need him? Or was that a lie he told himself?

"You really suck at making people feel better."

"Not my job, nerd." Higgs countered "That's up to you."

* * *

A/N: Welcome to my first story for Star vs the Force of Evil! Just a brief overview- as you can probably tell this is going to be Starco, but I'm gonna hurt you first. I don't plan on this story being too long, maybe a dozen chapters. I have the first four chapters written out (pending proofreading), so my plan is to update every Friday.

As for the continuity of this story, suffice it to say Booth Buddies never happened. I consider it quite likely that the season finale will render this out of cannon somehow. Regardless, I'll just say things diverge somewhere towards the end of season 3.

Any comments or criticisms are welcome. I'd love to hear what you guys think. Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Awareness came slowly to Star as she awoke, and she tried to piece together where she was and how she got here. "Your phone… it's loud!" Tom groaned from beside her… Tom! It all came back to her- his proposal, the night of celebrating, and crashing back in Tom's room in the underworld. Her phone was going off… oh yeah, her alarm!

Star hadn't partied like that in a very long time- maybe not since the Bounce Lounge closed, back when she was on Earth. Those were good times. It was really nice to get the chance to cut loose again, especially with the constant stress of being Queen.

There were some downsides, she was now acutely aware, of partying like there was no tomorrow. She was sure she had somewhere she was supposed to be, if not now then soon, and she didn't feel like she had gotten much sleep. _If Marco were there, he'd have stopped us sooner._ Star mused fondly. _That might have been for the best._

Marco had declined, and he'd been acting… weird. He had immediately congratulated them, but there had been something off in his smile, and his voice shook when he mentioned being a third wheel.

In hindsight, Star realized that yeah, it might not have been the best night for Marco if he'd come along. She really couldn't have guaranteed that Marco wouldn't have been a third wheel despite her best intentions, and while Marco cut loose from time to time, and he actually was a good dancer, the party scene wasn't his thing.

She resolved to make it up to him today, maybe pull him away from his books and paperwork and go dimension hopping. Wait, what was her schedule for today? She pulled out her phone and checked it.

Oh right, the Butterfly-Lucitor friendship summit. Star grinned at her boyfriend… fiancé, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. How convenient that she and Tom had crashed in his room in the Underworld, and what a coincidence that he had proposed to her _the day_ before the two kingdoms had their yearly re-affirmation of friendship.

Her smile turned to a grimace as she realized that she needed to get ready, and fast. Star rolled out of bed, to Tom's annoyance. "Look Tom, we have the summit thing with your parents in like an hour. So as much as I'd like to have a lie in, it ain't happening."

"Shit!" Tom cursed, practically throwing himself out of bed. "That's _now?_ My parents are going to kill me!"

Star giggled at just how quickly his demeanor shifted. "Alright, well I need to get ready, enjoy your morning _Mr. Butterfly._ " She teased.

"And you yours, _Mrs. Lucitor_." Tom returned with faux formality. Star opened a portal stepped through it, before turning and sticking her tongue out at Tom.

She rushed through her morning routine. Showering, brushing her teeth, picking out her formal clothes for the meeting. On the way out, she went to her desk, where she found the packet for the meeting on the top of the stack of papers Marco had prepared for her. Within it was a refresher on all the trade deals and other agreements currently active between their two kingdoms, along with a slew of other information about the underworld kingdom that Star only half knew.

The summit went well. Of course, that was because it had become quite informal the moment Tom announced their engagement. His parents were overjoyed, to say the least. Queen Wrathmelior had even cried. They'd always been fond of her and very supportive of their relationship.

King Dave had eventually turned the conversation to when they would officially announce the engagement, which left Star at a loss. She was sure there was some tradition for that in the Butterfly Kingdom, but she wasn't certain. She'd have to have Marco look into it.

They'd accepted Star's 'I need just a bit of time to figure that out' well enough, they were incredibly happy with her at the moment, after all. The rest of the meeting had gone easily, even more so than last years'. Star supposed it had something to do with the good feelings over the engagement, but she also liked to think that she was also getting a hang of the whole 'Queen' thing.

Both kingdoms were happy with the current state of trade- which mostly consisted of mewman corn in exchange for the underworld's forged metals. Tom had sat back and let his parents direct discussion at this point. That was something they'd _talked_ about. Star couldn't exactly fault him for his lack of interest in certain political areas- Star didn't find much of it all to interesting herself. Still, he was going to be a King one day, _her_ King, and Star had come to accept that dealing with boring stuff like this was part of the job.

Tom had promised her that he was working on it, and had said that his father was also 'encouraging' him to get more involved in the running of the kingdom. Star couldn't be prouder at how much progress he'd made over the past few years, so she was happy to give him leniency. After all, she and Marco would be able to pick up the slack while Tom got used to his position.

Star really did appreciate how much Tom tried to work on his faults. While the two of them had their hang-ups, it was all worth it. There were moments between them, moments of pure passion that took her breath away- like their dance at the Silver Bell Ball, or when she lost her virginity to him, or when he proposed to her. She was still giddy from that, to be honest. Tom had gotten on one knee, and fountains of water and fire had erupted around them, she recalled how his eyes were alight with passion and love. Oh, she should really get the girls together again; they'd love to hear about it!

After the meeting, Tom had suggested they slip away for some 'private time'. Star had to shake her head apologetically. "Look, I'm sure whatever you have planned would be simply amazing. But I have a lot of stuff I need to do." She decided not to mention that she was planning on spending time with Marco. Tom really did care for Marco. She knew the two of them hung out regularly and seeing them get along like that made her heart swell. Unfortunately, he had the tendency to be… sensitive about her and Marco's friendship, she didn't want to give him the impression that she was choosing Marco over him.

Tom rolled his eyes "Whatever, _Mrs. Lucitor_." She could tell he wasn't happy by her refusal, but she appreciated that he didn't push her on the issue. He dipped down quickly, capturing her lips in a kiss, eliciting a giggle from her.

"I'll see you later, _Mr. Butterfly_."

Star's plan to spend time with Marco and figure out what was up with him last night had hit a _slight_ roadblock. She couldn't find him.

He wasn't in his room, or in the library, and no one in the castle could tell her where he was. She'd checked her phone for Marco's schedule, but it contained nothing out of the ordinary. He hadn't sent her any texts either…

Ever since he'd snuck out to close portals with Hekapoo, Marco had _always_ made a point of sending her a text if he had to do something last minute. Star frowned, a feeling a sense of unease settling in her stomach.

Things weren't exactly _peaceful_ in Mewni these days. Mina Loveberry was now leading a faction that called themselves 'the Purists', and had begun raiding monster communities despite Star and Marco's best efforts to put a stop to it. They'd been frustratingly hard to pin down, slipping through their fingers every time. Tensions were rising, and some groups of monsters had struck back at mewmans. They were isolated incidents so far, but Star and Marco had spent many a late night together worrying about the issue.

What if something had happened to Marco? Maybe Mina's people or some renegade monsters had gotten the drop on him? Star's stomach twisted uncomfortably at the thought of Marco being taken while she was out with Tom when she _should_ have been right at his side for friendship Thursday.

 _Marco, where r u?_ She texted him.

It took less than thirty seconds for Marco's reply to come through. _The roof._

Star frowned, at least he was safe, but his behavior was worrying her. She definitely needed to talk to him. The last thing she wanted was for Marco to feel like a third wheel- he was so important to her, he had to see that.

She used cloudy to fly up to the roof. Sure enough, she found him, legs dangling off the edge of the roof, looking off into the distance pensively.

"Marco, there you are!" Star chirped "What's up, bestie?" She put on her happiest mood, hoping it would be infectious. She plopped herself right beside him, and put a hand on his shoulder. She was surprised and a little hurt when he flinched away at her touch, scooting to the side. "Marco?"

"Star." His voice was rough with emotion. Star had never seen him like this before "This. This is gonna be hard. I have some things to say to you."

"Is everything alright?" She asked cautiously "Because I noticed you were a little… weird last night and…"

"I have a crush on you." He blurted out. "Well, that's putting it lightly. I have for a long time now, and I… can't do this anymore." He spoke haltingly, as if every word he forced from his mouth exerted a toll on him

Star was in freefall, as if the ground had been pulled out from under her. Her mouth opened and closed uselessly, trying and failing to find something to say. "I'm leaving." Marco choked. He put a hand to a face, and Star realized he was wiping away tears.

Star shook her head minutely, not in argument but in pure disbelief. This… this couldn't be happening. This had to be a dream… a nightmare. There was no way this was real. There was no way was Marco actually leaving.

"I can't do this anymore." He repeated "I can't keep pretending that I'm happy here. I'll never be able to get over you when I see you every day. I'm sorry, Star."

He started to get up, and Star's heart leapt in terror. "No." She grabbed his arm forcefully "No. No. Nonono. Marco! _Marco!_ " He turned back to her. There were tears streaking down his cheeks, and Star felt her eyes sting with her own. This was _wrong_. They were supposed to stand by each other. They were meant to have each other's backs, no matter what. He was her _best friend,_ her partner, her lifeline.

"You _can't_ leave, Marco. _Please._ I- I need you here, by my side." _Like always._ Star pleaded, her voice wobbling. She could see the conflict in his face; she could tell that he was tempted, so she pressed on. "Please. We can fix this. You don't have to leave. We can work this out. Just please. _Stay._ "

Marco furiously blinked tears from his eyes, seeming to steel himself. "I can't." Unable to look her in the eye, he turned away from her as pulled his arm out of her grip and grabbed for his scissors.

" _I'm sorry!_ " Star cried, lunging towards him and clutching at his hoodie " _Please!_ I'm sorry Marco." She didn't even know _what_ exactly she was apologizing for, just blindly trying to find _something_ to fix this, _anything_ to make it better.

"No, Star. Don't be sorry. It isn't your _fault_ that I fell for you." He gave her a bittersweet smile filled with equal parts affection and loss, and it stung bitingly at her heart.

"You've been _wonderful_ , and I'll never be able to thank you enough, for everything. For being the best friend a guy could ask for. For showing me how big and wonderful the universe is. For showing me how much more _I_ could be. If it weren't for you, I'd have been nothing. Nothing but the safe kid until the day I died."

"M-marco…" Star sobbed, fingers digging into the fabric of his hoodie.

"So please, Star, just do one last thing for me. Please let me go."

Star closed her eyes as they flooded with hot tears, and nodded. Her hands went slack, letting the fabric slip through her fingers. Star watched, unable to stop her tears as her best friend opened a portal and stepped out of her life.

It was at that point that Star broke down, falling to her knees as her body _shook_ from the force of emotion that was trying to explode from her. She clutched at her chest, as if she could soothe the gaping wound that had just been torn into it- like a piece of herself had just been cruelly ripped from her.

Marco… was _gone._

And Star wept.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, there we go- Marco has left. Next chapter, we take a look at the aftermath. I really appreciate the response this story has gotten, let me now what you guys think! And yeah, for the record, I did cry writing this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"By what you're saying, the fair lady is obviously emotional and distraught! Shouldn't we send in someone?" Sir Muscleton whinged. By corn, Higgs hated him.

"Be my guest, Sir Muscleton." She sniped "I'd sure enjoy seeing her blast you across the castle."

"Come on, don't be like that babygir-OWOW AH!"

Higgs released Sir Muscleton's ear just in time for Manfred to round the corner. "Sirs, I have not been able to locate Sir Marco. Has Queen Star collected herself?"

 _Oh. Shit._

Higg's mouth parted in a small 'o' in realization. Marco Diaz was not in the building, and truthfully Higgs hadn't let Muscleton on to the full extent of Star's emotional state. She'd never hear the end of his patronizing prattle if she'd had admitted that the Queen was bawling her eyes out in bed.

There was only one explanation, really. Higgs honestly didn't think he'd have the balls to go through with it, but here they were.

"She has expressed her wishes to be left alone. Loudly." Higgs told Manfred. "Maybe you should contact some of her friends? And her boyfriend. But I _strongly_ suggest that no one else interrupts her."

* * *

Marco was gone.

Some variation on that theme kept returning to her every time as she had begun to calm herself down, and every time it just _broke_ her again.

Marco. Her _best_ friend. Her lifeline. Was. Gone.

Star had taken shelter in her bed and curled in on herself, clutching one of his signature hoodies to her face and using it to wipe away her tears.

Star knew she had failed him. She had _no idea_ how he felt. She didn't even realize that he was secretly unhappy. How could she have missed it? What kind of best friend was she that she could miss something like that? She should have- should have _done_ something, helped him before it came to _this_.

Star would have moved heaven and earth to make Marco happy- and she had thought he was. She made sure he knew she appreciated him, she tried her hardest to never make him feel excluded around Tom, and she kept him close to her always.

The one thing she clung to, the thing that helped ease the stabbing pain in her heart, was that maybe now that he was gone, Marco could be happy. If this could help Marco find happiness, then maybe she could bear this.

It was why she let him go.

At some point, the door was cracked open again, and Tom leaned through. "Starship? Are you alright?"

"T-tom…" Star sniffled. Why was he here? Did he know that Marco had- had…

He caught sight of her, and his eyes went wide. "Star! What's wrong!" He rushed to her "Are you hurt?"

"N-no." Tom hovered over her. Star was curled in on herself defensively, and he hesitated, not quite sure how to act. He noticed that she was clutching at Marco's hoodie like it was a lifeline, which raised the question…

"Where's Marco?" He asked.

Star sobbed loudly, heralding a new bout of tears

"Oh… oh no. Is he okay? Did something happen to him?"

"N-no, he's fine. He's just- just…"

"Just what, Star." Tom entreated "You can tell me, what happened?"

" _He left!_ " Star wailed.

Tom blinked uncomprehendingly "When is he coming back?"

Star sobbed again. " _He's not coming back!_ And it's a-all my fault! Because I was so _stupid_ …."

Understanding came to Tom, and moments later- rage. Marco had, for whatever reason, walked out on Star. He'd _abandoned_ his best friend when she needed him.

"Don't worry Star. I'll get him back." Tom swore. _After I knock some sense into him._

Tom walked out of her room with a sense of purpose, ignoring Star's protests. Star was upset, but he could _fix_ this. All he had to do was track down Marco, force him out of whatever fit of insanity had come over him, and drag him back to Star.

He looked down at his phone, noting a new text message from Kelly.

 _Just found Marco. He's at one of our spots at Lake Lava Beach. I'll take care of him._

Yes, he could fix this. He didn't know what had gotten into Marco Diaz, but Tom was determined to get it out.

* * *

Marco didn't have a destination in mind when he cut open that portal, just that he wanted to be far away.

He had to suppress a bubble of hysterical laughter when he realized he was at Lava Lake Beach. Why had the scissors brought him here? Did he have a secret desire to torture himself?

Wiping his tears, Marco began to trudge along the shore aimlessly. The beach was deserted, which suited him just fine. No one to pretend be happy around, nobody to question him, nobody to distract him from his whirling thoughts.

For a moment there, he had almost given in. Star eyes, so sad and earnest, had pierced through every mental defense he had erected. He had felt his heart call out for her, and for a moment he let himself believe.

But it was only for a moment, before he let the cynical, jaded part of him crush the notion. No, there was no way for Star to help him get over her, and any attempt by her to accommodate his feelings would only lead in disaster. What was she supposed to do, not be affectionate with her husband, _the King_ , when her councilor was present?

His feet took him to the watch tower where he and Kelly had watched the soulrise nearly three years ago (and every year since). Now he knew why he was here.

He needed to remind himself that he had a life beyond Star. He had his friends- Kelly, Heckapoo, Janna, even Tom if this didn't nuke their friendship. He had family, a little brother even. He had a great thing going for him at St. Olgas, though perhaps he hadn't paid as much attention to it as he should have.

He needed to pick up the pieces, enjoy what he had, and make the most of it. That's all anyone could ever do.

Marco climbed up and sat down on the ledge, resting his forehead against the railing. His eyes drifted shut. He let the cool breeze contrasted by the distant heat of the lava soothe him.

Marco awoke gently to a hand shaking his shoulder. "There you are, Marco." Kelly said softly "You worried a lot of people, you know."

Marco blinked and rubbed the grogginess from his eyes. "Huh? Worried?" Something wasn't quite adding up. "How long have I been out? Why did you look for me?"

"Well, it's three in the afternoon right now, if that helps with the first question." He hadn't been gone for more than a few hours, hardly worth sending a search party. "Apparently Star's locked herself in her room and no one could find you."

Marco laughed bitterly. "So you don't know?"

Kelly narrowed her eyes at Marco, as if trying to pin him down. "What're you up to Marco Diaz?"

"I quit."

Kelly's mouth dropped open. "You quit?"

Marco nodded.

"As in _quit_ quit?"

"Yeah. Uh- I'm no longer working for Star. I came here to, well, sort things out for myself."

"Are you okay?" He gave her a look. "Sorry, stupid question."

"How's Star doing?" Marco returned, feeling a pang in his heart at her name.

"I dunno. Tom was going to talk to Star while I went and found you. Not spectacularly, I'd imagine." He wasn't sure how to feel about that. The ache in his chest was insistent, both painful and yearning.

"I'm sure Tom's helping her." He reassured himself, though for some reason the words felt hollow to him.

"It's okay, Marco." Kelly said softly, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder "I know why you had to do it. I know this is hurting you too." He'd never spoken it out loud to her, but he supposed his crush on Star had been obvious enough.

"I'll be okay."

"Marco, you're my best friend." Kelly's voice was gentle and earnest, and Marco had to fight the urge to avoid her eyes as they held him, shining with affection. "You don't have to be strong in front of me."

Kelly opened her arms to him, and Marco was ready to give in, to accept the comfort she was offering… until the moment was ruined by a sudden eruption of flames from the dry sand of the beach. Marco jerked back, a sudden panic overtaking him as Tom's carriage appeared with the flames.

 _Of course._

"What the hell, man?" Tom shouted, bursting from his carriage. He wasn't quite out of control with his anger- but he was the closest Marco had seen him to it in a long time without it being directed towards a serious threat. "I can't believe you!"

Marco let himself drop down from the watch tower, landing easily in the sand and taking a defensive posture. "Look Tom… I'm sorry."

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to!" The demon seethed.

"Wha?" Marco's mind quickly reevaluated the situation.

"How could you just abandon Star like that! I don't know what your problem is Diaz, but if you don't go back to her right now and grovel at her feet I swear I'll drag you back myself!" Tom raged, and Marco's expression became more and more bewildered.

"Tom, just stop!" Kelly intervened "You _know_ Marco. He'd never leave unless he had a very good reason to."

Tom looked from Kelly, who'd landed on the ground next to Marco and was now holding one of her massive swords aloft, to Marco, and his expression softened. "Alright. Fine. But it better be a _damn_ good explanation, because I've never seen Star like this before."

Marco's gut twisted. He remembered holding Star as she cried herself out after her parents had died. He couldn't bear imagining a reaction worse than that. Then again, Tom might not have seen much of that. Star had been bottling up her emotions in public, and it was only with Marco's coaxing that the dam had come loose.

"Tom…" Marco steeled himself. "The reason I left is because…"

"Wait!" Kelly interrupted "Maybe… you don't have to tell. I mean…"

Marco appreciated her attempt to get him off the hook, but Marco knew she was wrong "No, I do." He then looked Tom in the eye and said "Tom, I have a crush on Star."

" _What?_ "

"It's why I'm leaving. So I can actually try and get over her. I can't do that if I see her every day." The words spewed out of Marco's mouth, and Tom just stood there staring at Marco. His expression cycled between a variety of emotions, first anger, then confusion, then guilt, then back to anger. "I'm sorry." The words sounded hollow even to Marco's ears.

"Oh." Tom uttered, his voice a mixture of emotions, but mostly shock. Honestly, it was a far better reaction that Marco could have hoped for. The two of them hung out and got along pretty well… unless Star was with them. Tom was clearly insecure about Marco and Star's friendship, and would get competitive for Star's attention when the three of them were together. Star tried to balance how much she paid attention to the two of them, which in itself had gotten awkward in its own way because it was clear that it was something she consciously paid attention to.

Kelly and Marco glanced at each other briefly, and relaxed their stances. "I can't stay with Star. Believe me, it's killing me that she's upset, but I _can't_." He said sincerely.

"So wait, how long have you felt this way about Star?" Tom asked.

"Well, I realized it during our first trip _here_." Marco hated this, he'd already spilt his heart out once today, was he going to have to do this for everyone? That answer, however, seemed to put Tom on edge.

"And you never said anything until now?" He demanded, oh there was the anger again, or maybe it was just frustration.

"Oh, I wonder how that conversation would have gone?" Marco replied bitingly, tired of spilling all of his secrets on demand "You were already jealous enough of Star and I's friendship, can you blame me?"

"You know I always told myself I was being irrational about that… but maybe I wasn't!"

Kelly moved between them, holding her hands out to keep them separated "Guys!"

"You _are_ being irrational!" Marco barked "'Cause yeah, I like her, but guess what? She's with you! You're the one who gets to hold her at night and you get jealous of me whenever we so much as _watch_ _movies_ together?"

" _Guys!_ "

Tom scoffed "You have _no idea_ what you're talking about. I guess you don't see the way her eyes light up whenever she talks about you! Or how she always goes to you first with her problems, before she goes to _me!_ Or how half the time I suggest something fun for us to do, she tries to drag you along too! I'm sick of feeling like I'm second in her life, even though _I'm_ her fiancé!"

"Well I guess you got what you wanted Tom." Marco declared, spreading his arms as if in invitation "She's all yours." That took the wind right out of Tom's sails, as he once again seemed to realize the situation.

After a few moments of dead silence, in which Tom and Marco stared at each other speechless and breathless, Kelly intervened again "Are you guys done?"

"Yeah. I guess." Tom sighed "I shouldn't have blown up like that. This is just a shitty situation all around."

"I understand." Damn, this was awkward. "Look, we don't have to go through all of this now. It's alright if you need time to figure out… everything. And well, I need to take care of some stuff, I'm sure Star could use some support from you guys right now." Marco rambled nervously.

"You don't have to do this alone, Marco." Kelly turned to him "Tom can go back to Star, how about I help you find a place to stay?"

Marco hesitated. He'd been planning on figuring things out on his own… but did her really want to be alone right now? "Thanks, Kelly. For everything."

"Look, Marco. I-" Tom had an almost repentant expression. "I know I've been a jerk sometimes… a lot of the times. And this situation is all sorts of screwed up but…"

"What is it?" Marco asked, not a clue at where Tom was going with this.

"You're still my friend, okay?"

Marco smiled, perhaps the first genuine smile he'd had all day. "You're still my friend too. Take care of Star for me."

* * *

 **A/N:** Another update, more drama! We got to see a bit of Kelly, and got some insight into how Tom feels. Next chapter, we'll take a look at how Marco and Star cope without each other. Once again, I can't begin to say how much I appreciate all of the feedback. Stay tuned!

Oh, and I've gotten a few comments about my decision to have Star lose her virginity to Tom. I just wanted to say that I made the choice because it just didn't seem realistic to me that Star and Tom would be together for 3 years and engaged to be married without taking that step. I can understand why it'd rub some people the wrong way, but imo society puts to much importance on virginity in the first place. Hopefully you guys can see where I coming from on this.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Marco was haunting her.

Every time she pulled out her phone to look at her schedule, she was reminded of him. It was the schedule that Marco had made for her- her entire week laid out for her.

He'd already had information prepared for nearly everything she would need over the next week. Marco had personally tailored his summaries and refreshers to her. They were filled with personal touches and little notes- sometimes just random thoughts he had on a topic, or an idea he'd had on the top of his head, or even just a 'see you later!'. Star couldn't help but feel now that he had left a little piece of himself in them.

She couldn't bear to think of when they would run out. It would be like losing him all over again. Everything reminded her of him. She almost couldn't make it through her first breakfast after Marco… Marco had left, because she remembered the day he introduced her to her favorite cereal. Whenever she caught a flash of red in a crowd, her heart leapt with hope, only to sink in dejection every time she realized that it wasn't her bestie.

Some mornings, while she was still dozing in bed, she forget that Marco was… gone, and absently wondered what he was up to, why he hadn't knocked on her door or texted her yet to coordinate with her… and then she remembered and it all came crashing back down on her.

She honestly hadn't realized just how much she relied on Marco every day, and not just with the business of running the kingdom. Just knowing that he had her back, that come hell or high water Marco Diaz would be by her side, it had given her strength. Now, it felt like Marco had taken part of herself with him. Her heart _ached_ for the piece that was missing, for Marco.

She sighed, looking up from Marco's notes on the upcoming corn harvest. Star loved corn, but even Marco had a hard time making this particular topic interesting. Surplus corn storage, shipping and processing, fair distribution- by corn it was dull.

There was a knock at her door. "You in there, Starship?"

Star mustered a smile and called him in. "Sooooo… how are you holding up?" He asked.

"Good, good. It's all cool. Just, you know, reading about corn." Star lied. Tom asked about her, in his own awkward way, nearly every time they saw each other nowadays and Star had lied every time. She didn't want to worry him or any of her friends more than she already had, she told herself. But if she was being honest with herself, she didn't think she could handle bearing her aching heart to someone without breaking down again.

"Well, how about I help you out a bit? Do you think you need some help with the corn thing?" Tom offered. Star blinked in surprise, Tom had never volunteered to do something like this, something so dry and bureaucratic, before. But it was really nice that he wanted to help her.

"Suuuure." Star agreed, waving her wand absently to poof up a comfy chair for him. "I could actually really use some help. This stuff is so boring, especially without… company."

 _Corn_ , talking about anything was like stumbling through a minefield. Avoiding saying _his_ name was the mental equivalent of that twister game that she and Marco had played once.

Tom looked through the notes "Did Marco put this together?" He asked, opting to charge straight into said minefield.

Star's expression crumbled. "Yeah."

To his credit, Tom noticed her reaction and tried to apologize, which was ridiculous because he had only _mentioned Marco's name._ "It's okay, Tom." Star cut him off. "I can handle hearing… his name."

Star explained to Tom the workings Mewni's corn industry and the information contained in the packet- not noticing how his eyes glazed over after the first few minutes. As she did so, she couldn't help but appreciate just how much work Marco must have put into this- regular communication with regional officials, references to historical records. He had done so much without complaint, all out of love for her.

"Star, are you okay?" Tom asked, and Star realized there were tears in her eyes.

"Y-yeah! I'm fine. It's just corn is a very emotional topic for me." Okay, that was probably not her most convincing performance. She looked up at Tom, who regarded her sadly.

"Star, I really hate seeing you this way. I know you say you're fine, but I know you aren't. You can talk to me." Tom pleaded, and for a moment Star felt her resolve waver.

Could she really talk to Tom about this, though? How much she missed Marco? How she missed _everything_ about him now that he was gone. His smile, that could light up the whole room and take a load off her heart if it was genuine. His eyes, so warm and caring. His patience. His kindness. His awkwardness. His cute little mole.

Uhg! No, there was no way she could tell Tom about that stuff, not without running the risk of him getting jealous. Especially now that he knew how… how Marco felt.

And there was no way… _no way_ she would ever open _that_ can of worms with Tom. She could barely even handle the overwhelming surge of confusing emotions that emerged whenever she thought about how Marco… Marco _loved_ her.

Star plastered a wide smile on her face. "Don't worry about me, Tom. I can handle anything life throws at me."

Tom sighed in resignation "Alright, alright." He conceded, abandoning the topic for now. "So, about these reports…"

"Hm?"

"Well, I know my parents have people that put stuff like this together. I mean, I'm pretty sure it's not like _this_ " He gestured to the stack of papers on her desk _"_ but you know, the same idea."

"You're saying I should hire someone." Star surmised resignedly. "I don't know, Tom."

Truthfully, she had had the exact same thought, but she hadn't been able to bring herself to go through with it. It just felt… wrong, she didn't want to replace Marco. Marco was irreplaceable.

"Look, I know I'm not Marco-" Tom coaxed, ignoring Star's grimace at her former bestie's name "-but I can have good ideas too. Just, give it some thought."

* * *

"You'd never believe the rumors that are flying around." Hekapoo remarked, taking a swig form her flaming drink.

Marco mirrored her, enjoying a spoonful of his sunday, while contemplating how much to tell her. It was always something of a game with them- a push and a pull. While he could spill everything to her in one go, he suspected Hekapoo would be secretly disappointed that she had gotten it out of him so easily.

"Well, I wouldn't exactly be in touch with the rumors flying around Mewni, not anymore." Marco told her, the last part with just a touch of bitterness. That wasn't quite true, Marco admitted to himself. After all, he had spent a lot of the last few days with Kelly- apartment shopping, furniture shopping, grocery shopping, just in general taking advantage of the savings he'd built up over the years. He had made her promise to keep him posted on how Star was doing, but so far she'd been pretty vague- which might have been a mercy.

"Sensitive subject?" Hekapoo probed "What, did you finally tire of being Star's doormat?"

Marco's heart lurched at the reminder of his best friend. He knew what Hekapoo was doing, she was goading him on. Marco couldn't bring himself to be angry at her for the jab, though. It wouldn't be the first time Hekapoo had ribbed him about his dedication to Star, even occasionally 'jokingly' suggesting he ditch Mewni's Queen for her instead.

"You could say that." Marco offered, and to his surprise Hekapoo offered up her fist to bump.

"About damn time!" She chuckled.

"You seem unusually happy about this." Marco noted "If I didn't know better, I'd say you actually cared."

Hekapoo had a reputation as being tempestuous and capricious. If one were to believe the rumors- she was above the petty concerns of mortals, and at most viewed them as pawns to achieve her own goals. Marco suspected she'd deliberately cultivated that reputation.

Of course, Marco knew that she'd taken a certain fondness to him at some point during his 16 year scissor quest, and that she was far from above 'petty mortal desires' like food, entertainment… sex. She was a person, albeit a person who was ridiculously powerful, nigh immortal, centuries old, and had a temper to boot.

"Of course not, Diaz." Hekapoo returned with a mischievous grin, placing a hand on his forearm "I can't help but be happy, though, at a certain _opportunity_ that has arisen, with Star out of your life."

"Oh?" Marco managed.

"I find myself _in need_ Marco, in need of your _services._ " She purred.

 _Services? Huh?_ It took him a moment for him to piece together what she meant, and how he should react.

Marco smirked "Oh H-Poo, if you wanted me for a job, all you had to do was ask." It wasn't like he _needed_ the work. To be honest, the money he got from his position at St. Olgas would be enough to live off of. But in another way, he did need it- the adventure.

Hekapoo frowned "You're no fun."

"You're just upset that I'm harder to tease." Marco bantered "So, what's the job? Does it have to do with those untraceable portals that Mina's people have been using?"

Tracking down Mina's group should not have been difficult. Between the seeing-eye spell, and Hekapoo's ability to trace any portal activity, it should have just been a matter of finding them and overpowering them.

But Mina was surprisingly squirrelly. Try as she might, Star couldn't use the seeing-eye spell as a portal, and the Purists seemed to relocate almost daily. They had been able to identify a few traitorous nobles- so it hadn't been a complete waste, but the more worrying problem was that Hekapoo couldn't track their portals. Hekapoo was at a loss, and he and Star had talked the subject to death. They didn't have any leads to speak of, only speculation. Someone powerful, more powerful than Mina, had to be backing them.

"No, actually." Hekapoo answered "Well, at least I don't think so. But I do think you'll like this case."

"Alright, I'm curious, why?"

"Because, Marco, the portals are coming from Earth."

* * *

Nothing quite beat riding through a dimension portal on a dragoncycle as an entrance. This was especially true if you were Marco Diaz and the place you were entering was St. Olgas.

More than perhaps anything, Marco was proud of St. Olga's. What had once been a repressive reform school, and then a party school, had become something more. It was only a few months after Star had become Queen that he'd received a tearful call from Princess Arms. The school was going to be shut down. Royals weren't willing to send their daughters to a party school that produced no results. Arms begged Marco to help her save St. Olga's.

Marco took to the project with zeal, and the results were better than he could have hoped for. They'd gotten teachers for subjects that might actually be important for royalty and future queens- like history, politics, economics, military strategy, and even combat. Marco had borrowed teaching styles that had been becoming more popular on Earth to set up classes that encouraged interactive learning, teamwork, and provided a relaxed atmosphere. The curriculum wasn't too stringent, the princesses were able to choose their courses and had a lot of free time, but Marco figured that forcing them into classes wasn't the way to go anyway.

Enrollment soared. Both the parents and students loved 'St. Olgas 3.0', the students because they got a lot of free time and the classes were cool and interesting, and the parents because they saw actual improvement in their children's behavior and work ethic. They'd actually gotten some requests to accept princes, which the school board was still debating.

For his efforts, Marco had been given a permanent position on the school board. He remembered the day he accepted that position, how Star had been so happy for him… Marco forced Star from his thoughts.

Marco surveyed to school a moment before coming to the ground. The school had changed a lot. Gone was the oppressive atmosphere of Heinous' time. Gone was the refuse that had built after the revolution. The school looked… nice. Grass, trees, and bushes surrounded the building. Even now, there were princesses outside, relaxing and studying.

Marco coasted through the gates, and was soon surrounded. At first the princesses were inquisitive, but Marco could pinpoint the exact moment he'd been recognized when they started squealing.

"Look at his mole! It's Marco Turdina!"

"Sign my Princess Turdina doll!"

"Sign my Princess Turdina movie!"

"Can we take a picture with you?"

"Say your catch phrase!"

St. Olgas was always good for an ego boost- something Marco felt like he needed right about now. Still, he had come here for an actual reason. Marco waded through the crowd, acquiescing to sign a few of the more reasonable requests, and blushing profusely when one of the girls asked him to sign her boobs.

Eventually he made it through the crowd, to be greeted by an amused looking Princess Arms. "Princess Turdina, what an honor." She smiled.

In the wake of the overthrow of Miss Heinous, Princess Patty Arms had become something of a leader of the St. Olgas princesses. That had transferred over into the official position of student council president when the school was revamped. She had graduated last semester, but hadn't wanted to leave the school.

Marco's solution was simple, the school could use a headmistress, why not the person who had put more into the school than anyone? Patty had been dead set against it at first, since it was the title that Heinous used. So Marco went over her head and put the idea to the students, who had burst into applause at the idea. Patty ended up tearfully accepting the position, passionately promising her students that she would never, ever, ever be anything like Heinous.

"Hey, Patty." Marco greeted casually. "How's it going?"

"I should be asking you that." The princess returned "Because rumor has it you've just done a runner."

"You could say that." He really needed to get used to answering that question, or at least get to the point where the thought of Star didn't cause a stab of pain in his chest.

The two of them managed to extricate themselves from the crowd, and shut themselves in her office. "So, what's the deal? You and Star have a falling out?" She asked.

"No. It's not like that." Marco denied "I just… need space." He sighed, while he considered Patty a friend, he wasn't comfortable with telling her _everything_.

The princess nodded sympathetically, and Marco wondered how much she knew "Well, I'm guessing you're not here for gossip, what's up?"

"Well, since I'm no longer working for Star, I found that I have a bit of free time. I've always kind of skirted on my duties as a board member, so I figured I should get a bit more involved."

Patty snorted. "I wouldn't say you've been slacking. I mean, you've been to every meeting and always have suggestions. Your position is more of an honorary thing, really."

"Yeah, I guess." Marco allowed "But I'm in the position to do more, now. Maybe look over the curriculum in detail, get some feedback, see what can be improved."

"Be my guest. I don't think you'll find any objection from anybody here, after everything you've done. Is that really all you came for?"

"Actually, I'm here on official business. From Hekapoo."

Princess Arms' eyes lit up in realization. "Ahhhh. The kidnapping."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, there you have it. Not much angst in this chapter, though I promise you there is more to come ;). Thank you to everyone who has reviewed, I hope you guys enjoy this update!


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

"It's an honor to meet you, Princess Marco Turdinia sir!" The young princess gushed as she shook his hand enthusiastically. She seemed very much starstruck, and Marco hoped he could get her over that.

The girl was a centaur of sorts- her lower body was horse-like, perhaps closer to a deer, and her upper body looked human. She couldn't have been much older than twelve, Marco tried to recall what St. Olgas' age of admission was, but he was disappointed when he came up blank.

"Thanks for agreeing to this, Princess Equia." Marco returned formally "Uh, you can just call me Marco."

"Uh, okay. But only if you call me Ella." The princess… Ella tittered . "I can't believe that I actually get to meet you Pri- Marco, this makes getting kidnapped totally worth it!"

Marco frowned, not quite comfortable with that. "Really? Because it sounds like a pretty serious situation. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Well, it was kind of scary at first, but they sent me back really quickly. So, like, nothing really happened." Ella explained.

Marco ran a hand through his hair thoughtfully. If whoever had taken her had sent her back quickly, that meant they might be looking for something or someone in particular. Either that, or they had a soft spot for kids.

"How about we start from the beginning?" Marco prompted "When were you taken, and where?"

Ella explained how she'd been practicing swordsmanship on a dummy in the training grounds behind St. Olgas when she was sucked up through a swirling indigo portal. Marco did the mental math to convert the date in time to Earth's system, and found that it happened on what would be a Saturday on Earth.

That was consistent with the information Hekapoo had given them. On Earth's Saturdays several portals opened up from seemingly random dimensions to Earth- sometimes sucking in objects- and in a few cases, people.

The time suggested that this was not a professional operation. If this were a government or corporate experiment, weekdays would be more likely. Which meant these were amateurs fooling around with magic in their off time. Though given what they'd accomplished, it would be a disservice to call them amateurs.

"Did you get a good look at them?" Marco asked.

"I'm sorry." Ella shook her head "It all happened really fast. I was freaking out, and I think I threatened them with my sword. They were, like, wearing cloaks and hoods and stuff, and they were sitting in a circle around me. There were some candles, I think."

"Don't be sorry." Marco reassured her "That actually really helps." It meant that he was probably dealing with the occult, maybe a coven that had gotten its hands on some _real_ magic.

"Really?" The princess asked hopefully.

"Yeah, it helps a lot. Thank you." The princess beamed under the praise, while Marco cast his mind to the next logical step and internally sighed. There was no way around it, he was going to have to call Janna.

* * *

Kelly stuck close to Marco as they navigated through the bustling crowd. She'd barely been on Earth, and the dimension was still mostly foreign to her. Earth really was an oddball dimension, with its seemingly magical innovations that actually weren't magical at all, and its almost complete ignorance of the larger universe.

Her eyes swept across the mall that Marco had taken her to, to all of the stores and restaurants proudly advertising their services. This sort of scene was familiar enough, but it sort of boggled her mind that humans used no magic to make it happen.

She felt more than a little out of place. The large sword strapped to her back was getting her quite a few suspicious and cautious looks. Carrying deadly weaponry must not be standard in this dimension.

Kelly shifted closer to Marco, and his eyes shifted towards her. "Don't worry Kelly. People handled Star's magic well enough. You're not gonna get into any trouble." He favored her with a reassuring smile "Heck, the worst trouble that Star got into on Earth was having to clean a few police cars, and you know how she is."

Kelly couldn't help but feel jealous, of just how _fondly_ he talked about Star, even now. What did _she_ do to deserve Marco's affection?

Then, with a look of realization in his eyes, Marco's expression turned sad. Kelly sighed- it had become a sort of pattern with him. The two of them would be talking, Marco would launch into some story, and that story would always involve _Star_ in some way. He would seem to get sucked into the happy memory, until reality reasserted itself.

"So where are we meeting Janna again?" She asked- not particularly caring, but hoping to get Marco's mind off of Star. She'd been so excited when Marco had asked her out for lunch, and couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when she realized that Janna would be there too. _Too soon._ Kelly had thought wistfully.

"Eh, just some Chinese place. Janna suggested it, since I haven't actually spent that much time on Earth recently."

"Could have fooled me. You seem really comfortable here."

"Well, it is nice… a little nostalgic I guess, after years of crazy adventures." Marco said with a melancholy smile.

He led them to a small restaurant, where Janna was already waiting for them. She had several books piled up on the table next to her, and her lips curved into a roguish smile when she caught sight of them.

"Hey, Janna." Marco greeted "Eh, thanks for coming."

"'Sup Diaz." Janna returned, her eyes shifted to Kelly "I see you brought your girlfriend."

"She's not my girlfriend! It's not _like_ that!" Marco sputtered, and Kelly felt the heat rising in her cheeks. Janna scrutinized her for a moment, smirk widening as she did so.

"God, Marco. You're _so_ easy to wind up." She chortled "You aren't going to start moping on me, are you? Because I've had enough of that from Star."

Star had definitely taken the 'breakup' the worse between the two of them. She never talked about it, but at the same time it was clearly present in her mind constantly. Her bubbly persona had been flattened and subdued. Her smiles were forced and she reacted to Marco's name like a physical blow. Marco was downright cheery in comparison, mentions of Star provoked that painful bittersweet smile of his, but Kelly felt, or perhaps hoped, he was finally moving on.

Marco rolled his eyes " _Janna._ The only person bringing up Star is you."

"Yeah, yeah." Janna waved him off "So whatya need me for? Ghost problem? Did you get cursed? Did Tom put another nayasaya on you?"

"No! Nothing like that… look someone from Earth is opening up portals. Someone is using real magic to do this. That's why I need your help."

Janna's eyes went wide "Ohhh, and what's Kelly doing here?"

"I wanted to help too." Kelly said defensively.

"And since I'm getting paid for this, I figured I should split the money with you." Kelly had already known about this, and it still didn't sit right with her. She wasn't doing this for the money, she was doing it because, well… if she was being honest with herself she was doing it because she _liked_ him.

"Sweet! How much money?"

"Six hundred and fifty dollars for each of us."

"You've got a deal." Janna said without hesitation. "So. We've got ourselves a coven on our hands! This should be fun _._ " As if to emphasize her point, Janna slapped Marco's but.

" _Janna!_ " Marco squeaked, blushing.

Janna just shot him a lecherous smile, and waggled her eyebrows as she repeated "Lots of _fun._ "

Kelly wasn't sure she liked the sound of that.

* * *

Star burst into the council room, briefly taking in the pandemonium before her. Her circle of advisors- the Magical High Commision, 'Monster Expert' Buff Frog, and 'Captain of the Guard' Sir Stabby were shouting at each other.

Uhg.

Raising her wand, Star created a magical, multicolored explosion in the center of the room, coating everything in glitter. The argument had been halted in its tracks as everyone in the room was forced to wipe the glitter off their faces, and for a few out of their mouths.

"I'm glad that I have your attention." Star said with forced cheer, twirling her wand between her fingers. "So that we can have this civilized meeting where we talk about things calmly like grown-ups."

Star was satisfied to see Rhombulus look properly chastised, while the others remained silent. "Alright, well let's get started then."

"Should we not be waiting for Karate Boy?" Buff Frog asked.

Star winced, but there was no beating around the bush on this one. "Yeah, uh, Marco is no longer… working with me." Star felt so vulnerable at the admission, and wondered if anyone else noticed how small her voice had sounded at the last part.

"I do not understand…" Buff Frog shook his head "Why would Karate Boy stop working with you?" Star felt herself wilting inside. This wasn't how she imagined this meeting going. Couldn't Buff Frog see this was very personal?

It was Hekapoo of all people who saved her "Marco's working for me now." She revealed with a smile "I think he just needed a change of scenery."

Star's eyes went wide as her mind tried to digest the revelation. Marco… working with Hekapoo? Now that she thought about it, it was blindingly obvious. After all, the only reason he stopped working for Hekapoo in the first place was because she asked him to. Hell, he might never have left her dimension in the first place if Star hadn't asked him to.

 _Well that's good, right?_ Star told herself. _Marco's moving on, good for him!_ Except no matter how many times she told herself that this was a good thing, the sick churning feeling in her gut told her otherwise.

"Star, I wanted to talk to you about attacks on monster villages." Buff Frog brought her back to reality "Monsters are beginning to wonder if they are better off leaving Mewni."

This was only a marginally easier topic to manage. It was what had prompted this meeting, and nearly every other emergency meeting Star had had as of late. Another one of the monster villages had been attacked, and for all their magic Star and the High Commission were powerless to predict them, or see them coming. By the time they got word that an attack was happening and were able to respond, the raiders had already fled, leaving them little to do but fix the damage and heal the wounded.

While the hit and run tactics were frustrating, the fact that Hekapoo couldn't track their portals, Omnitraxus couldn't seem to use his powers to predict where they might strike next was downright worrying. Mina definitely wasn't capable of that on her own, which meant she had help.

"But what about the Mewmans?" Sir Stabby asked "Queen Star, we also need to worry about the monster raids. Just yesterday a corn farm was burned to the ground by monsters."

"I have no idea what monsters are doing these raids." Buff Frog countered "All my sources- none of them have heard whisper of who it is." Star rubbed her forehead in frustration, it was the same arguments they'd had a dozen times at this point, and none of them had gotten them anywhere.

The all-seeing-eye could only get her so far- and infuriatingly it seemed like Mina was expecting to be watched at all times. Her ramblings only occasionally gave insight into her targets, which seemed almost randomly chosen, and the scenery- usually a nondescript forest or room, never gave hint to her location, which seemed to change daily.

"Star, maybe it's time we considered negotiating." Hekapoo suggested.

"What? No! I'm not going to make a deal with Mina." Star refused. She was somewhat ashamed that she'd ever idolized the mentally unstable warrior. The last time they'd crossed paths, any attempts by Star to talk Mina down just resulted in her spiraling higher in her delusions. "Even going to the table with her would give her legitimacy, which is the last thing we need."

"I'm just saying, this conflict is hurting both monsters and mewmans, if we can find a peaceful resolution, why not take it?" Hekapoo pushed back.

"Because it would mean selling monsters down creek!" Buff Frog interjected.

"I'm not negotiating with Mina. I appreciate the input, but my decision is _final_." Star insisted, her tone signaling and end to discussion.

Hekapoo raised her hands in acquiescence "Alright, alright, you're the queen, but I can't help but notice we're running low on ideas at the moment."

"I know." Star sighed, feeling more isolated than she had in years. She was feeling Marco's absence keenly right now. She knew that if he were here, he'd have backed her up. He'd have been in her corner no matter what.

Star steeled herself. Marco wasn't here, but she still had a job to do, people who relied on her. "I know that it looks like we've hit a dead end, but _I promise_ that I'll bring Mina Loveberry to justice. I'm not about to give up because a few setbacks, and I hope that the same is true for everyone here."

After the meeting, Star retreated to her room, falling face first in bed. At long last, the day was over- no more meetings, no more petitioning commoners, or having to worry about the problems of petty nobility. Finally, she could take a breather.

"Hey Starship, how are you holding up?"

With a beleaguered sigh, Star pushed her out of bed. Tom was there, looking at her with that concerned expression of his. It was starting to get on her nerves- how he asked how she was _every time_ he saw her. It was nice that he cared, but every time he asked it reminded her that she _wasn't_ okay.

"Just peachy!" Star responded "Finished with everything today so…"

"So we can get some alone time, eh?" Tom grinned.

Star huffed "If by alone time, you mean _sleeping_ then sure."

"Oh, yeah, right. Uh, sorry."

"Look, Tom. It's not that I want to spend time with you, it's just without… without _Marco_ " She forced his name from her lips "Things are a lot harder. I don't have the _time._ "

"Sorry, Star, I just figured, it didn't look like you had anything tomorrow, so I thought…" He trailed off, and Star was confused.

"What do you mean? I have _things_ every day. Why wouldn't I have a thing?"

"Look, it was just, you're schedule didn't have anything! Sorry!"

Then it hit her. The schedule- it didn't have anything for tomorrow. _Marco's_ schedule had run out. She felt her chest clench up, like something had wound itself around her heart and was _squeezing_. Even though her breathing was coming in gasps- it felt like she was suffocating.

It must have shown on her face because Tom was scrambling to backtrack " _Shit._ Star! I'm sorry. I'm not sure what it is I'm sorry for but I'm sorry!"

"No, Tom. _It's okay._ " She tried to reassure him, but her voice broke with a sob. "Just _go._ "

"Whatever it is, Star. I'm sorry." Tom said sincerely, completely missing the point. "Look, I know-"

"GO!" Star bellowed, forcing him out of the room with a blast of magic.

Star waited, and Tom did not come back. Assured that she was alone, Star collapsed back into her bed and let herself cry.

* * *

 **A/N:** Another chapter up. I'm not super happy with this one to be honest. I kind of feel like this was mostly just set up for future stuff. Anyway, things will get moving soon enough!


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

When Tom next saw Star, she acted almost as if their last conversation never happened. Honestly, he understood the impulse to pretend that nothing was wrong, but he couldn't bring himself to give into it.

Ever since the day Marco had left, everything had felt _wrong_. Star wasn't the same- no matter how hard she tried to act like it, she just… wasn't. He could tell that the stress of ruling the kingdom was piling up on her more and more, and Tom honestly tried to help. Accompanying her while they went over paperwork, trying to get her to relax and let loose every once in a while, trying to be there for her. But nothing he did seemed to be enough, and Tom was beginning to feel that there was something _broken_ between them.

He felt _useless_. And what made it even worse was that his first instinct, the first person he wanted to go to about it, was Marco.

He'd been _furious_ with Marco at first, but after only a few days that anger had diminished entirely. And if he were being honest, brutally honest with himself, he missed Marco too. A lot.

Star and Marco were basically the entirety of his social circle, Marco _was_ (still was?) his best friend- one of the few people who actually gave him a second (and a third, fourth?) chance. Tom felt just as powerless to fix the rift between him and Marco as he did to fix his and Star's relationship.

Star's polite smile, to someone who didn't know her, revealed nothing. But to Tom, who'd known Star for _years_ , it was just wrong. Star didn't smile politely, at least, not in private. She grinned, beamed, giggled, and laughed, the slight upturn of her lips in response to Tom's presence felt fake.

"Hey Starship!" He enthused "How are you doing?"

Her smile tightened slightly "I'm doing just fine, Tom. How are you?"

"I'm doing well." Tom mirrored. Jeez, even their conversation felt fake.

"Tom… you were right."

"I was? I mean, of course I was."

There was something genuine in her smile now- fondness, but it was so fleeting that Tom almost missed it. Star seemed to steel herself for what she said next "About getting a new assistant. I-I can't just keep pretending."

Pretending what? That she could do this alone? That Marco was coming back? Tom didn't want to ask.

"It's alright, Star. I'm sure we'll find somebody."

* * *

Steven forced down his nervousness. Yes, Butterfly Castle was intimidating, and the guards were intimidating. And yes, he was about to have an interview that could change his entire life for the better.

He had good reason to be a little nervous, but it wasn't time for that. Above all, he needed to make a good impression on whoever would be interviewing him. Whoever it was had to be trusted by the Queen, and surely must be important and influential.

A guard, or maybe it was a full blown knight, he honestly wasn't sure, led him through the castle halls to a room. "Don't worry, she _probably_ won't behead you if you screw up." She remarked, and Steven felt the blood drain from his face. It was only when she began snickering that he realized it was just a joke.

Feeling relieved, Steven walked into the room, only to have his heart seize up in his chest when he caught sight of the Queen. She was sitting casually, leaning back and feet resting on her desk- beside her was the man that was rumored to be the next King of Mewni- similarly relaxed and sipping on a drink.

He made a noise, it wasn't exactly a coherent noise, but it did perfectly reflect his emotional state at the moment. This would be his first time actually speaking to royalty. He'd seen Queen Star from afar- during speeches and official ceremonies, but certainly nothing like this. Of course, he realized, he should have been prepared for this, the position he was applying for- the Queen's personal assistant- was one which required a lot of interaction with said Queen.

Mustering himself, he managed to put together something that passed for a proper greeting "Your majesty! It is an honor to meet you!" He began to bow, but then thought better of it, but then second guessed himself and recommitted to the bow. God, he was making a fool of himself.

"So. Steven, right?" Prince Lucitor asked.

Steven gulped "Yes, your majesty."

"You can cut it with the 'your majesty' crap." Tom waved him off "Pretty sure you'd drive this one nuts a week in if you keep it up." He smirked, gesturing to Queen Star.

"Sorry, of course, sir."

Prince Tom chuckled, and inclined his head toward the Queen, who was surveying Steven intently… making him distinctly uncomfortable. "So, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Tom suggested.

So Steven spilled his entire history. Explaining how he worked as a clerk in a shop for two years until he could manage to get an apprenticeship under a merchant and how he travelled from kingdom to kingdom and dimension to dimension while apprenticed. Until, that is, the day he realized that he didn't want to spend the rest of his life travelling with no home, which led to him serendipitously seeing the call for interviews to be the Queen's personal assistant.

"So you would say that you're good with numbers?" Prince Tom asked.

"Uh, yes."

"And you're organized?"

"Yeah."

"And you have experience travelling dimensions?"

"Yeah."

Tom turned again to Star, who let out an unconvinced "Eh." as she twirled her wand between her fingers.

That wasn't the response that Tom seemed to hoping for, and he led the Queen out of the room, where they had a quick discussion that they failed utterly to keep Steven from hearing.

"You can't just reject literally everyone who applies, Star. You were the one who decided to do this."

"I'm not going to settle on someone who isn't good enough, Tom."

"You're being impossible! This dude is like a perfect fit."

The Queen huffed "He's not. There's no way he could do the job as well as…"

"So that's what this is about."

"Don't even go there, Tom."

"This isn't about replacing him, Star."

"I KNOW!"

There was a beat of silence, before Queen Star quietly followed up with something that sounded like an apology. Their low murmuring was muffled enough by the door that Steven didn't pick it up- and to be honest he was happy for it

After another few moments, Queen Star burst back into the room. "You're hired."

"Really?"

"Yep." She answered, matter-of-factly. "Now, I've got stuff to do, so why don't you get started by looking at a few of these papers." She unceremoniously dumped a pile of papers into Steven's lap. "This is the kind of work your predecessor did, so you'll need to be familiar with it."

Steven couldn't help but be intimidated by the stack of papers, and he could feel the blood drain from his cheeks as he leafed through them and spotted terms and symbols that he simply couldn't decipher. "Do you think you can handle this?" The Queen asked.

With the memory of her nearly dismissing him out of hand so fresh in his mind, Steven summoned all of the false confidence he could. "Absolutely, your majesty. I won't let you down!"

Internally, however, his stomach squirmed. He felt much like he had that time his brother decided to dump him in deep water for the first time as a prank.

There was a lot he needed to figure out. And fast.

* * *

"Thanks for inviting me." Kelly told Marco softly "And showing me around your hometown. It was nice."

Marco shrugged. She was the one who was helping him with his job, the least he could do was show her around Echo Creek. "Come on, this place isn't anything special." Just another town, one out of hundred, the only unique thing about it was that a magical princess from another dimension decided to call it home for a year.

Yet still, she seemed to be fascinated by even the more mundane aspects of Earth life, attentive when he talked about childhood memories, and curious- asking questions about his life here. She wanted to know the little things, like why he got interested in karate (his obsession with Mackie Hand) and who his first friends were (Janna, technically).

"It's where you grew up. It made you who you are; I'd say that's pretty special." Her voice was so earnest, and Marco became uncomfortably aware of how close she was to him.

Marco stepped to the side, widening the gap between them, but not sure what to say. "Uh, thanks."

Kelly giggled, and shifted closer to him once again. "I really like you Marco." The words slipped from her mouth, and the moment she uttered them a brief look of horror spread across her face.

"Like me… like…" Marco trailed off, giving her an escape hatch. The heat was rising in both of their cheeks, but the fear had left her face, in its place was determination.

Quick as a flash, Kelly leapt up and pressed her lips to his, before retreating just as quickly. "Like that."

 _Oh._

 _Oh._

 _Oh no._

"Kelly…"

"I've liked you for a longtime, ever since we saw the soulrise together, really." She explained, her eyes never leaving his. "But you always seemed to only have eyes for Star. But now that… you know… I thought that maybe… maybe, we could…"

Kelly was losing steam, and Marco's mind was overloading, trying to figure out _how_ to respond. He never thought, never even considered that Kelly had feelings for him. He was getting flashbacks to the time that Star had blurted out how she felt about him in front of _everyone._ At least he and Kelly were alone.

His stomach squirmed uneasily. How had he not seen it for so long? Marco felt like a hypocrite- pining after Star but not realizing that someone was pining after him.

"Well, say something." Kelly entreated, and Marco realized that he had been frozen still and silent for far too long.

"Uh… look." Oh god, this was not going to come out well, no matter how much time he had to practice it, and he had to do this on the spot "You're great, Kelly."

Kelly took the words like a physical blow, seeing them for what they were. "You're a great friend." Marco couldn't even in good conscious call her his _best_ friendeven after all this time, because he knew that in his heart Star somehow still clung to that title. "But I'm not interesting in anything more than that."

Kelly's eyes were glistening, and her lower lip quivered "I-I thought, that maybe I could help you get over her… but if you need more time…"

He could take the easy way out, Marco realized. He could say he just wasn't ready for a relationship yet, that it wasn't about _her_ it was _him_.

But that would be a _lie_.

Because yeah, he definitely wasn't ready for a relationship yet, but the truth was he just didn't feel that way for Kelly. Would it really be fair to string Kelly along like that, just to avoid a tough conversation?

"Kelly… don't wait for me."

"What?" Oh god, she was about to cry. Marco had no idea how the situation could spiral out of control so quickly before his eyes. It was all falling apart. He was going to lose another friend and he was helpless to stop it. Was this how Star had felt when he came clean to her? If so, he felt even worse about it now.

"I don't feel that way for you. You're just a friend to me. I'm sorry." He forced the words from his mouth, almost wincing at how each line landed.

Tears flooded onto her cheeks, and Kelly choked down a sob. Heart aching for her, Marco reached out to put a hand on Kelly's shoulder, but she flinched away. Yeah, he should have expected that. He probably deserved it.

"I don't get it, Marco." Her voice was wet with tears, yet seeping with frustration " _Why?_ I've done _so much_ for you! I've been there for you all this time while _she_ treated you like _dirt_ for _years_!"

Marco was reeling, but the disdain in Kelly's voice when she talked about Star rubbed him the wrong way. "Don't bring Star into this." Marco said softly "This isn't about her."

"She shattered your heart into a million pieces, and you still defend her! But even after I help you put it back together piece by piece, I'm still just a _friend._ " She said the last word like it was poison on her tongue.

And really, he didn't have a good answer for her. Part of him was worried that this would be like Star all over again- only realizing how he felt after Kelly was out of reach. But Marco knew himself better now than he did at fourteen. He knew how he felt. When he looked at Kelly, he didn't feel the warm, abiding flame of love and affection he held (still holds) for Star, or the nervous flutter of a crush he had for Jackie, or even the chemistry he and Hekapoo seemed to share.

Kelly was his friend- a close friend, but nothing more. He couldn't explain why he felt the way he did, even to himself, let alone to her. "I'm sorry. I really am." He repeated, near tears himself, but he knew that it wouldn't be enough.

He knew from personal experience that nothing ever would be.

* * *

 **A/N:** Did anyone order a serving of Kellco angst? No? Well here it is anyway! Yeah, for any fans of Kelly, I do apologize. She's handling rejection poorly after pining for Marco for years, but she isn't he bad guy here and she'll have her redemption.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Star hadn't felt this worn down in years. The entire kingdom was resting on her shoulders, and it was only now that she felt full weight of it. It wasn't just pressure- it was unrelenting pressure. It was all so much more bearable when Marco was there. It wasn't just that he lightened the load, his very presence by her side made everything easier to bear.

She had given up lying to herself. She wasn't alright. She missed Marco with every fiber of her being. Whenever someone said his name, or Kelly and Janna mentioned doing something with him, Star's heart threatened to throb out of her chest. She'd be torn by the urge to shut herself in her room to avoid any reminders of him, and a desperate desire to hear how he was doing, to know if he was okay.

There were times where she was tempted, after a long day of meetings and problems or after learning about another attack by Mina or rogue monsters they were too late to stop, she was tempted to use the seeing eye spell and find him, take him in her arms and beg him to come back. The only thing that stopped her was that she knew he wouldn't want that. He wanted- needed to move on, and after everything… it was the least she could do to give him that.

"Star?" It was Tom, coming to check on her again. He leaned in, and they shared a quick kiss. "How are you doing?"

Star forced a smile. At first it had warmed her heart to hear Tom worry for her, but _every_ time they met up he'd ask the same damn question. She knew he was trying to help, but frankly, it was starting to grate on her. The worst part was she couldn't put her finger on _why_.

"I'm doing fine, Tom." She returned "Same old, same old, ruling a country and all."

Tom chuckled "How's the new guy, uh, Steven, how's he taking to the job?"

"Well, he's certainly working hard." Star said thoughtfully. She'd seen him exit the library earlier today with a stack of books up to his chin. She was reminded of how Marco had worked himself to the bone those first few weeks after she became Queen She should probably check on him… she didn't want him to overwork himself, and maybe she could give him some guidance.

"Hey, I told ya." Tom joked "That guy's gonna work his butt off to keep you happy. By the way, have you figured out what the deal is with the announcement?"

"Uhhh, announcement?"

"For our engagement?" Oh right, they were getting married, and she needed to announce that to the entire kingdom, _the entire world_.

"Ooooooooooh. Uh, I haven't actually done that, but I'll look that up right away!"

"Great! So what do you say we go out, relax for a bit? A new five star restaurant opened in the underworld, how about we go check it out?" Tom coaxed. Before, his cajoling tone and smile would have been enough to get Star to relent, or at the very least set up a time later.

"That sounds nice, Tom, but…"

"C'mon, Star, everyone needs a break. You're not a machine!"

He was right, but somehow the thought of spending time alone with Tom didn't exactly appeal to her at the moment. She knew that an evening with him would mean having to pretend she was okay; it would be filled with little white lies and awkward tiptoeing around the elephant in the room. And if she made misstep, Tom would look at her… the way he was looking at her right now, with that concerned and scrutinizing gaze.

She was saved from the conversation by Steven, of all people. "Queen Star?" He asked timidly "Whenever you have a moment, could-"

"Well, looks like I got stuff to do Tom, we'll hang out later bye!" Star shot out rapidly, and quickly motioned for Steven to follow her. She missed the way Tom's eyes lingered on her as he left, and the soft disappointed sigh he let out.

"So, what's up?" She asked Steven.

"Well…" He looked extremely nervous, and Star wondered if she was going to like what she was about to hear "There are a few things that I'm having a bit of trouble with, and I couldn't find resources for in the library, I was wondering if you could… point me in the right direction?"

Corn, he was acting like she would fire him for asking a question. She might have left a bad first impression on him… "Hey, it's cool, I can't expect you to know _everything_ right off the bat. So what do you need help with?"

"Do you know what _statistics_ are?"

Star suppressed a beleaguered sigh. Okay, she had her work cut out for her.

* * *

Marco Diaz sat at a park bench in Echo Creek, hugging his knees to his chest. He was there because he was waiting for Janna, of all people, to show up. He was waiting for Janna because she was one of the few friends he had left. In the past, he could have gone to Star, or Kelly, or Tom. None of those people were options right now.

Haltingly, he'd told Janna what happened over the phone not long after Kelly had left. She had more or less commanded him to go to the park and wait for her. Marco didn't feel like arguing with her.

Janna was late. Marco shut his eyes, willing tears back down.

" _Marco_? What are you doing here?" A voice pulled him from his self-pity abruptly, and he nearly jumped in his seat out of shear surprise. Because standing in front of him with a mixture of surprise and concern on her face was Jackie Lynn-Thomas.

" _Jackie?_ " Marco uttered, feeling very much like he was 14 again- having no idea what to say. It wasn't that he and Jackie had parted on bad terms, but they had most definitely parted. He hadn't spoken to her in three years. Yet there she was.

Jackie settled in beside him on the bench, patiently waiting for Marco to answer her question. "I was supposed to meet Janna here." He was able to explain.

At this, Jackie actually chuckled. "That's funny, because so was I." Her eyes were dancing in amusement, and it clicked in Marco's brain.

"She set us up!" Even as he protested, he couldn't help but smile, and suddenly the two of them were laughing together at their situation.

"It's been so long, dude! How've you been?" That question wiped the smile from Marco's face. "That bad, huh?"

"Yeah. I've had a rough few weeks, and I don't…" Marco trailed off, not sure if he could just unburden all of this on Jackie.

"You can talk to me about it, if you want." She offered "I mean, I'm sure you've got Star to go to for these things, but…" She paused, noticing how Marco seemed to crumple at the mention of Star's name.

Her hand touched his forearm gently, rousing him once gain. He gave Jackie a teary look "Yeah… Star and I aren't exactly on speaking terms right now."

"Come with me."

Jackie led him by the arm, away from the park- to where Marco didn't know, and it didn't take much prompting for him to spill everything to her. How when he finally got to Mewni, Star had already moved on. How he didn't realize his feelings for her until it was too late. How he stuck by her side for three years, until it all became too much for him. How he left. His and Tom's argument. Kelly confessing her feelings for him- feelings he didn't return- and now she was gone too.

"I feel like I'm losing everyone, Jackie." Marco told her hopelessly "Star, Tom, Kelly- I'm running out of friends."

Suddenly, Jackie's arms were around him, and Marco found himself sinking into her embrace. "It's okay, if you need to cry." She told him softly.

He couldn't help it. He felt so raw and vulnerable in that moment. Jackie's human comfort moved something deep within him- like being wrapped in a warm blanket after being left out in the cold. It started with a sniffle, and soon tears were streaming down his face. All through it, Jackie held on to him, rubbing a hand up and down his back soothingly. She only pulled back once it seemed he had collected himself once again.

Holding his shoulders, she gazed at him "Oh, Marco, you have a lot of people who care about you."

"It doesn't feel like it at the moment."

"Well, what about Janna?"

"Okay-"

"And it sounds like you and Hekapoo are close."

"Well…. yeah."

"I care about you too, you know, and what about your parents?" It was at that point that Marco realized that Jackie had been taking him home- or rather to his parents' place. They were on his street- there was really no other place they could be going to.

"Jackie…" He sighed.

"And there's someone else you're forgetting about."

He had a… complicated relationship with his parents. They'd taken a very hands off approach to raising him. Sometimes he joked that he'd been raised by Mackie Hand movies. It wasn't all bad- he'd learned to take care of himself- be safe, organized, learned to cook and defend himself. But it left a certain distance between them- which only grew after Marco met Star and moved to another dimension.

Yeah, he visited a couple times a month to babysit his little brother, but…

 _His little brother._

Oh, right. He was an idiot.

Jackie must have picked up on his epiphany "You're not the only one who babysits little Marcus." She smiled knowingly "Your parents are going camping today. I figured it'd be nice to make some money on the side. Not to mention he's such a sweetheart."

"He is." Marco found himself agreeing.

"Look, Marco. I know things seem pretty bad right now, but you've got to remember the good things." Jackie told him as they walked up to the front door of his childhood home. "So just hang in there, pick yourself up. After everything you've done- I know you can get through this."

Marco understood what she was getting at. He remembered his first date with Jackie. How she told him how much she admired how he always picked himself up after failure. But there was part of him that just wanted to, for once, give up and wallow in misery. In some ways it would be the easy option.

Marco was never one to take the easy option.

Jackie rapped on the door, and his parents threw open the door to welcome them. "Mijo! Janna told us you might be coming to help Jackie tonight." His dad said happily, as his parents both went to hug him. It wasn't nearly as emotional as the hug he and Jackie just shared, but still, Marco had to admit it was nice to let himself be hugged by his parents.

Jackie caught Marco's eye over his dad's shoulder and just shrugged. He got her meaning and chuckled, he had no idea how Janna knew he'd be joining Jackie here and honestly he didn't want to know.

"And Jackie, it's always wonderful to see you." His Dad continued once they pulled back.

His mom looked between him and Jackie, as if trying to figure out a puzzle. "Thank you for helping us." She added.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Diaz." Jackie deflected.

"Mawco! Mawco! You're here!" Marco beamed and knelt down as his not quite three year old brother toddled up to him.

"Hey there buddy!" He greeted, taking the kid in his arms and lifting him up with practiced ease. "How ya doing?"

Marcus giggled, and babbled on about his day in the way that only a kid could. Jackie met his eyes knowingly, and Marco conceded that she was right. Somehow, she'd known exactly how to dispel his depression and show him just how much good there was in his life.

Setting Marcus down, he asked him "Hey, Marcus, do you want some of my _special_ _nachos?_ "

* * *

 **A/N:** Not gonna lie, I'm pretty damn happy with this chapter. Don't you worry, more plot is incoming!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

"Is the circle ready?"

Sophia examined her handiwork- a pentacle drawn with salt, encircled by runes and lit candles. She once again compared the circle to the diagram in the book. "I think so." She confirmed "I think it looks alright."

Violet gave the pentacle a once over, and Sophia couldn't help but shuffle her feat nervously. This was the first time Violet had let her participate in the summoning. Every time before, she'd only been allowed to watch while the more experienced witches worked.

"It'll do." Violet said dismissively, which provoked a few murmurs from the other girls. Sophia did her best not to show her satisfaction- if there had been anything wrong with her work, Violet would have picked it apart ruthlessly. The fact that the worst thing she could say about it was 'it'll do' meant she'd done it flawlessly.

"So, are we ready to start the summoning?" Sophia asked, anticipation building. The fact that she would be getting to do _magic,_ actual real magic, was unbelievable. Even watching the others do it was freaking _insane_. It was worth all of the pointless initiation rituals, worth doing all of the dull work no one else wanted to do- like transcribing the translation of _the_ book, it was worth going out into the woods in the middle of the night and putting up with Violet Aldritt's bitchiness.

"When you are." Violet responded "If you know the words."

Sophia swallowed, not expecting to be put on the spot like this. She had asked her to prepare everything, not to lead the chant! Taking a breath, she calmed herself. While she'd never lead the chant before, she had repeated along with everyone else. She could do this.

"Hoods up?" That was something else that Sophia suspected was more for show than actually necessary, but she had to admit they looked cool, she felt a bit more legitimate with the cowl down, like a real sorceress.

She stood in front of the circle, and began to chant. The words came awkwardly off her tongue- not English, or any other language they could recognize- a language of magic perhaps? Around her, the others echoed her words, their voices joining in an almost eerie chorus.

As their voices died down- the wind picked up, swirling around the circle, causing the candles to flicker. Sparks seemed to fly out of the outline of Sophia's circle, circling around in the air before coalescing into a ring of light. The wind gusted, whipping at Sophia's cloak and briefly extinguishing their candles, before they relit themselves. The ring rose into the air, and when Sophia craned her neck, she could see the swirling blue portal that formed within it.

It was at that point that _something_ fell through the portal, landing heavily on the ground. No, not something, _someone_. And that someone hadn't just fallen to the ground, they'd landed with feline grace, rolling into a crouch and drawing what appeared to be knives etched with glowing orange runes. Silhouetted by the light of the portal, it was hard to pick up any details on the man they'd summoned.

"Alright!" He said authoritatively "Who are you, and what are you doing abducting people?"

Sophia squeaked in terror, frozen in place. Oh god oh god oh god, they'd really fucked up now, hadn't they? "Abort! Abort!" Violet screeched, and it took a moment for Sophia's fear paralyzed mind to understand what she was saying. They'd accidentally summoned a person one time before- some sort of centaur creature that had drawn its sword at them.

Summoning all of her courage, she quickly kicked her foot out, scuffing the side of the circle. The disruption in the circle caused the spell to fail, and as a result the man was sucked right back into the portal as it collapsed.

Her heart was still racing even as the tension faded and a sense of giddy elation fell over her. Had she actually done it? Almost as one, everyone in the coven sighed in relief.

Until, with a start, she noticed the most bizarre sight she had ever scene. It looked like someone was very deliberately trying to cut through reality itself, and the incision seemed to be forming… another portal!

Dread constricted at Sophia's heart. Someone whimpered. God, she hoped it wasn't her. The moments ticked by, nothing happened. They looked at each other, wondering if they had a chance if they just booked it right now. That thought process was instantly cut off as _something_ flew through the portal with a roar.

It was a dragon. A _fucking_ dragon- and on top of it was the same man. Actually, getting a better look at it, it looked like a bizarre cross between a dragon and a motorcycle. Sophia didn't know what to think. She was terrified beyond belief as the man unseated himself from his dragon and began to walk towards her. Specifically her.

"That was very rude." He told her.

Sophia did the only thing she could think of- apologize. "I'm sorry!"

The man was standing right in front of her. He reached a hand out, and she flinched away in fear. What was he going to do to her? Abduct her and take her off to his dimension? Arrest her? Or maybe he would just stab her with his magical knives?

Instead, he simply flipped the hood of her cloak down. His expression soften as he took her features in. Now that she got a good look at him… she wasn't exactly what she'd have expected. He was dressed in what looked like leather armor… but he looked young, not much older than she was. In fact, he was actually really cute.

"Oh. You can't be older than… fifteen?"

"Sixteen." She corrected automatically, before snapping her mouth back shut.

The man ran a hand through his hair "How'd a bunch of high schoolers get their hands on interdimensional magic?"

"W-we're really, _really_ sorry for disturbing you. We didn't mean any harm." Sophia wasn't quite sure where she was going with this, but his guy seemed like a reasonable person. He at least wasn't attacking them, or anything.

"Look, you're not in trouble." He assured them.

"We're not?"

"Well, no. You girls really shouldn't be messing with magic like this, and you _could_ get in trouble if you end up mixed up with the wrong people, but as of right now, you're not in trouble." His tone carried a tone of warning to it, but was surprisingly gentle. "So! How the heck are you guys doing magic. Not something most humans get involved with."

"Err, there's this book." At her words, someone rushed forward with said book. The man took it and flipped through the pages casually. It was at that point that someone else stepped through the portal the man had created. It took her brain a moment to process who this new person was, but when she realized it, her jaw dropped in shock.

" _Janna Ordonia!"_ Violet gasped, at last stepping forward from the crowd.

"Do you know these people?" The man asked… Janna.

Janna smiled mischievously "I may be a bit of a celebrity in certain circles."

Marco turned to Sophia, prompting her for an explanation "Well, everyone in the occult knows about _Janna Ordonia_. One of the few people to ever travel between realms- and even bringing back magical artifacts!"

"Have you been stealing stuff from Mewni?" The man asked Janna, his voice a mixture of accusation and playfulness.

"Ask me no questions and I'll tell you no lies."

"What's Mewni?" Sophia felt compelled to ask.

"Oh, just the dimension his ex is the Queen of." Okay, that raised a lot more questions than it answered. Who _was_ this person?

"First of all, she _isn't_ my ex. Second of all, she isn't Queen of the _entire_ dimension… just part of it."

"Potato potahto." Janna rolled her eyes "So what do we have here? An itty bitty coven? What's this?"

"The book they've been casting spells from, apparently."

"Hmph, I'm don't know that language."

"You wouldn't. It's Arrylic." Janna merely raised an eyebrow in response "A language in Heckapoo's dimension. Learned it from the dimensional scholars there when I was earning these babies." He held up a pair of scissors.

It was then that a _third_ person walked through the portal. This one was perhaps the most normal looking out of all of them- she was a blond, except for the blue streak through her hair, and was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. "So I take it that Janna's plan worked?"

"Did you ever doubt me, Jackie?"

"Not for a moment." Jackie assured.

"I'm sorry, but I'm confused." Sophia interjected. She probably didn't have a right to know anything at this point- she had the sense that these people could get them into a load of trouble if they wanted to and were going easy on them. But still, there seemed to be so much she was missing- she was barely following along.

"Alright, let me break it down for you." Janna explained "Basically, the portals you guys have been making upset a primordial, nigh-immortal, magical entity that governs inter-dimensional travel. Marco here was chosen to investigate because he's friends with said demigod, and is from Earth, and is idolized by most of the universe's princesses- one of which you accidentally abducted. You follow so far?"

Sophia nodded silently.

"Right, so Marco comes running to me for help, and me, being the talented witch that I am, figure out what sort of spell you guys must be using, _and_ use that to figure out where the portal is most likely to open next. And that's basically it."

"Who _are_ you?" Sophia asked the man… Marco.

"Oh sorry, I guess I kind of forgot about introductions. My name's Marco, Marco Diaz." He held out his hand to shake, and Sophia took it without hesitation. "Sophia Grey." She replied, unable to help the heat rising in her cheeks.

"But I mean, you're from Earth? How did you end up…like this badass interdimensional warrior?"

"Well, when I was fourteen and magical princess from another dimension became my roommate and best friend… and well, my life has never been the same since." His voice held quite a bit of fondness when he mentioned his friend, and Sophia couldn't help but wonder…

"Is she also the Queen that's your ex?"

Marco's expression fell instantly "Yeah." Uhg, that was so stupid of her, she wanted to kick herself. Did she really just ask the ridiculously hot guy she _just_ met about his ex-girlfriend?

"Sorry. I shouldn't have asked." She apologized, but the damage seemed to be done.

"It's alright." He told her, subdued "So this book. I'm going to have to take it off your hands."

" _What?_ " Violet gasped. "But-but you have no idea what I had to go through to get it! That's a priceless antique!"

"Trust me; there are far more difficult ways to get your hands on inter-dimensional travel." Marco responded "Do you have any idea how dangerous this is?" He asked them all. "You have _no control_ over where this portal ends up. It was only a matter of time before you got some monster, or opened the portal to space, or the center of a planet!"

Sophia looked down guiltily "I'm sorry." She seemed to be saying that a lot.

"It's okay. I've done my fair share of stupid things too. That being said, you guys are extremely lucky that losing this book is the worst thing that will happen to you."

* * *

Steven was beginning to think taking this job was a mistake. There was just too much- too much to learn, too much to do, too much pressure. He'd have been completely hopeless if it weren't for Marco Diaz.

He had no idea who his predecessor was, or why he left, but Steven knew that without his meticulous notes and organization, he wouldn't have been able to make it a day. Whoever he was, Marco Diaz was a genius. He honestly wanted to shake the guy's hand.

Even so, Steven knew he wasn't nearly prepared to handle the responsibility that had been placed on him. Every time he asked Queen Star about something, he couldn't help but feel guilty. She seemed so overworked and he knew that he was just adding to her own problems, but he didn't know what else to do.

At the very least, there was one aspect of the job he was mostly comfortable with. His time working as a clerk had given him a lot of experience dealing with angry customers. Except instead of commoners, he was instead stonewalling nobility and local leadership. Honestly, he took a bit of perverse joy in it, and he couldn't help but chuckle internally whenever one of them did the equivalent of 'let me talk to your superior'.

Or at least, he was comfortable when the concerns they brought to him were pretty much trivial. The meeting he'd just left had been something altogether more serious. "Queen Star?" He asked tentatively as he knocked at her door "Something's happened."

She must have sensed something in his tone, because she was at the door in an instant. "What is it?" Her tone was serious, but at the same time weary and beaten down, as if waiting for the next blow to come. Steven felt bad, but really, he was only the bearer of bad news.

"I just spoke with some of the mayors of the surrounding villages. They're not getting their corn shipments." He didn't need to tell her how serious that was. If multiple villages weren't getting corn… they were only a few steps away from famine.

"Do we know how this happened?"

"Uhh, no."

The Queen responded by promptly turning her heel, walking over to and falling onto her bed, and screaming into her pillow. Then she sprung out of bed and turned back towards him, acting as if nothing had happened. "Alright, what do we know?"

Deciding to just roll with the punches, Steven explained "Well, the towns aren't receiving shipments of corn. The merchants that ship the corn are saying that they aren't getting corn from the farmer's markets. And the farmers' markets-"

"Are supposed to get corn directly from the farms." Star finished. "So if they aren't getting corn from the farms… that's because… because…" She suddenly slapped her forehead "The raiders!"

"Who?"

"They're burning the corn fields!" She exclaimed "Uhg! How did I not see this before?"

The picture began to come together in his head. The monster raids he'd been hearing about, they'd been targeting corn fields. And without the corn fields…

"It's not your fault. I don't think anyone could have seen this coming." Well, he certainly hadn't. _Someone_ probablyshould have, but he didn't fault Queen Star for not figuring it out sooner- since she did have a lot on her plate at all times.

The Queen's response was nearly a whisper, and Steven wasn't sure it was even meant for him. "Marco would have."

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, this was an interesting chapter for me. Told entirely from the POV of OCs. I like exploring how 'regular' people see Marco- as some sort of badass inter-dimensional adventurer. Thank you to everyone who's left feedback. I hope you enjoy this update!


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Tom returned to Butterfly Castle with a heavy heart- twisted with uncertainty and anxiety. The guards, noting his mood, let him pass without a word.

He hesitated for a moment when he reached Star's door, before knocking. There was a time where such a formality wouldn't have felt necessary between them.

"Star! It's me." He called.

For a few moments Tom though Star might not respond, but she did open the door. She looked even worse than she had last time he saw her. Oh, her hair and clothes were perfect, but he could see it in her eyes. It made him feel even worse about the conversation they were about to have.

It was a long overdue conversation- perhaps even three years overdue. Perhaps, this was something they should have hashed out when they first started dating, instead of sweeping it under the rug and pretending it didn't matter anymore. But it was clear now, it did matter. It mattered more than anything.

"I really don't have time right now, Tom." Star told him coolly "I'm incredibly busy, so you can take whatever 'fun' day out you have planned and-"

"We need to talk."

This stopped Star mid-sentence, before she recalibrated. "I don't think I have time for that either."

"Am I really that useless to you?"

"W-what? Where is this coming from Tom?"

The question had been gnawing at him for a while now, even before Marco had left. But it had come to the forefront in the wake of Marco's departure. Tom hadn't been able to help Star when Marco left. He hadn't been able to help her run the kingdom, or get a genuine smile out of her. All of his ideas and plans had failed and he was left feeling inadequate and impotent.

Marco would have known exactly how to make Star feel better. Marco could have helped her run Mewni. Hell, if Marco hadn't left none of this ever would have happened. When he had left, Tom had vowed to himself he'd take Marco's place as Star's closest confident, but every time he found himself falling short.

Tom had to face it. He wasn't Marco Diaz, he never would be. And because of that fact, he never would be enough for Star.

"You know, I thought I was being insecure. That I was just being a jealous jerk. But I wasn't, was I Star?"

"Tom…" Star's façade had collapsed. Gone was the cold sternness that she tried to project. In its place was a vulnerability that Tom rarely got to see.

"Just for once, I thought I'd get to be first in your life. But even when Marco's gone, you put him before me. You put mourning his absence over me."

"That- that's not true!" Star denied "Tom! I love you and Marco equally!"

Tom laughed bitterly at that. "Equally? I'm your _fiancé!_ So why does it always feel like I'm the one who has to struggle to understand you! Like I'm the one that has to work and pry to figure out how you're feeling. I have to struggle to get even a fraction of what you gave Marco freely!"

With each word, Tom took a step towards her, but for every step he took- Star took one back. "Be honest with me, Star. When you and I started dating, did you still have feelings for Marco?"

Star hesitated and Tom winced- it told him everything. Tom almost didn't want to go any further, he didn't want to know how much deeper the knife lodged in his chest could go. But he had to know, or else it would fester on and taint everything.

"But I chose you." Her words were soft and sad, but Tom had been anticipating them.

"If you had known that Marco returned your feelings, would you have ever even gone out with me?" That had been a question that had been burrowing into his gut ever since Marco left- and he was afraid he already knew the answer, but if Star could put his fears to rest…

"Marco and I are…were just friends." Tom winced again. She still couldn't deny it. She talked around it, avoiding the issue just like they all had been for _years_.

"Does a part of you secretly want to run away and be with him, even now?" He'd barely dared ask that question, even to himself. The thought was too much more him to fully contemplate, that Star wanted Marco, but was trapped- chained to him- out of obligation.

"Please don't say that Tom." Star sobbed "Please. I love you."

"But you love him more." The fact that she hadn't been able to deny any of his accusations hurt more than he could bear. "Did you ever intend on announcing our engagement?"

It had been the inciting incident- the straw that broke the camel's back for Tom- but it hardly mattered at this point. Star's stalling and delaying on announcing their marriage had bothered him- but compared to what he now knew… it paled in comparison.

Star sniffled. She'd barely even thought about it. When Tom had brought it up a few days ago- she'd honestly forgotten they were getting married. "I-I was busy." She offered feebly.

"Come on, Star. If Marco called right now, don't tell me you wouldn't drop everything for him!"

"That's not fair!" Star shouted. And maybe it wasn't, Tom internally conceded. Maybe he was at least in part being irrational. But he was tired of delegitimizing his own feelings. He was tired of beating back insecurity and jealousy.

"NONE OF THIS IS FAIR!" He roared, flames billowing off of his head. "You've been LYING to me our _entire_ relationship, haven't you? HAVEN'T YOU!"

"WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?" Star shouted back.

"TELL ME THE TRUTH!"

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT IS!"

"BULLSHIT! YOU JUST DON'T WANT TO ADMIT IT!"

Tom spun around and leaned against the wall- taking deep breaths to calm himself. When he finally was able to master himself again, he looked back at Star. She was looking up at him with glistening eyes that needled at his heart. Even now, he felt guilty for doing this, but he just _couldn't_ stand it anymore. "You don't have to worry about announcing our engagement."

Star's bottom lip quivered as tears spilled from her eyes. "W-what do you mean? A-are you breaking up with me?"

"I... don't know, Star. But I can't do this anymore. I _can't_."

"B-but Tom… I can't lose you _too!_ Please! You're my best friend." They were borne by desperation and grief, but those last words ' _You're my best friend'_ came off of her tongue like toxic sludge and landed with an unseemly splat. The moment they left her mouth, her face twisted in disgust- even saying them must have felt wrong.

Tom had had enough.

"We both know that's not true."

* * *

"Well, you're looking good… well better than last week at least."

Marco grinned back at Hekapoo, "Thanks H-Poo. I'm feeling better, that's for sure."

That was honestly true. He'd spent most of his time the past few days with Jackie and Janna, not to mention his parents and Marcus. He'd even caught up with Alfonso and Ferguson. The time back at echo creek had definitely been good to him. He felt lighter than he'd been in… ages.

He hadn't realized it, but Jackie and Janna had apparently become good friends after he left. The two of them shared an easy comradery, but were more than happy to let Marco in on it. Janna would go to ridiculous lengths to get a reaction out of a normally unflappable Jackie. Usually she was able to come up with something crude or surprising enough to get a chuckle or blush out of the girl.

Still, as great as his time back on Earth had been, he knew that he didn't belong there. He could never see himself settling down for a regular job on Earth… not when he could be solving interdimensional mysteries with Hekapoo or running a school for royalty. Earth wasn't where he belonged, and it hadn't been ever since he'd earned his scissors.

"Well, I'm glad to hear it."

"Oh, don't tell me you were _worried_ about me."

Hekapoo rolled her eyes "Please. After the shit you survived when getting your scissors?" Marco wasn't fooled by her dismissive tone. She had been worried for him, at least somewhat. It hadn't taken him long to realize that was part of why she'd given him the job. She could have tracked the coven down herself if she wanted to. Granted, he probably handled the situation better than she would have. Speaking of…

"Here." He slid the book he'd gotten from Sophia across the bar to her. "Apparently some humans are getting their hands on magic."

Hekapoo leafed through the book, and a few of the pages must have mildly surprised her, judging by how her eyebrows rose at a few points. "You read this?" She asked.

"I looked through it." He admitted "Seems pretty similar to what I learned from the dimensional scholars- though there were a few new things. Opening portals remotely. The different types of portals- dimensional portals, rift portals, space-time portals."

"Different ways of doing the same thing." Hekapoo interjected "Omnitraxus is too 'superior' or whatever to use my scissors, so he makes his own portals." She sounded almost offended by the fact. Marco nodded thoughtfully, remembering how the high commission member occasionally used portals to allow his hands to manipulate things.

"As for humans, we've been noticing a trend." Hekapoo continued "Magic is getting more widespread in the Earth dimension, and we're not sure why. This." She held up the book "Isn't the only instance."

Marco decided to bite his tongue on Janna's thefts from Mewni- he figured there was more to it than that. "That's strange… Earth never really had magic before, why now?"

Hekapoo shrugged her shoulders. "Beats me. I would have been worried about how you people would be able to handle magic… but let's just say I've had a change of heart."

"Aww, you're making me blush." Marco teased, causing her to slap at his shoulder.

"It'd probably be a huge transition for people- knowing that other dimensions and magic is real." Marco speculated. He could just imagine the panic that would break out… riots in the streets, looting. "Is there any precedent for this? Maybe we should be planning ahead."

"You sound a bit like Omnitraxus. Except _he's_ worried about how _we're_ going to handle _your lot_."

"Whaaaa?"

Hekapoo laughed. "I know, right? I mean, your technology is definitely different than anything we have, but it's not like that's a bad thing. Besides, I like those taco things you guys have."

Marco joined in on her laughter. Man, it was nice to just hang out with her like this. He was drawn from his thoughts by the ringing of his phone- still playing the space unicorn theme. He had tried to change it at one point- but Star had guilted him with puppy dog eyes until he changed it back. He really should get around to choosing something different…

God, he still missed her.

He was jolted from his thoughts when he realized just who was calling him.

Tom.

Whatever reason he'd be calling him… it must be serious. "I gotta take this." Hekapoo nodded understandingly.

"Tom?"

"Marco…" Tom's voice sounded strained, and suddenly Marco was more than a little worried for him.

"Are you okay man? You sound a little… down."

"You could say that." Tom let out a dry chuckle "Look… I know this is kinda weird, but everything's just falling apart and well, you're…" He trailed off. Marco was forcibly reminded of their battle with Meteora. _You're my best friend._

Tom had been willing to throw himself between him and Meteora to save his life. If Marco could do anything to help him… "Tom… what do you need?"

* * *

 **A/N:** Oof. Even as a Starco shipper this was hard to write. But are you guys ready for that sweet Tomco reconciliation next chapter? Awww yeah!


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Between hanging out with Tom casually and official business for Star, Marco had seen quite a bit of the underworld. It no longer held the same aura of intimidation it had that first time he'd been there- back at the Blood Moon Ball.

Back then, Tom had been nothing more than Star's evil ex-boyfriend. It was before Marco was able to convince Tom to give up on forcing Star to like him, before bonding over Love Sentence, before facing down Meteora side by side. He never could have predicted back then that Tom would eventually become one of his closest friends.

" _We spiraled high on a gust of love. And I knew right from the start._ " Tom's voice wafted through the door. " _Nothing could tear us apart. 'Till the day you broke my heart._ " Tom was singing 'Too Little Too Late'. It was worse than he thought.

Marco knocked "Tom, it's me."

The singing stopped, though when Tom opened the door, Marco realized that the song was also playing on speaker. "Hey man. Thanks for… for coming."

Marco clapped a hand to Tom's shoulder "Your welcome. Err, so, you wanna talk about it?" He still wasn't sure what _it_ was, but well, Tom had called him here for something, right?

"Star hasn't told you?" Tom asked.

"Star?" Marco parroted "Tom, Star and I haven't talked at all since I left, why would she tell me anything?"

"I just figured…" Tom trailed off "I'm screwing this up."

"Well, I am very confused, if that's what you mean. Tom… what happened?"

"Star and I had a fight."

Marco took a moment to process the information. An irrational part of himself leapt with hope that maybe… no. He quashed the thought.

"I'm sorry, Tom."

"It was about you."

"Oh." Marco was beginning to feel uncomfortable. If they were fighting about him… what did that even mean? Did that mean Tom blamed him? What could Marco even say to him, without coming off as patronizing or fake?

Fortunately, Tom seemed fine with forging ahead himself. "I didn't even mean for things to go that far. I just wanted to get a straight answer out of her, and… everything just spiraled out of control."

"I really am sorry, Tom. If this is my fault…"

"I know, Marco. I really do." Tom told him, now looking him right in the eye "And it's not your fault… not really. You can't control how you feel for her… or how she feels for you." Despite his assurances, his words were laced with bitterness.

"Tom…" _How she felt about him?_ There was no way. No way that Star felt like _that_ for _him_. It must be Tom's jealousy rearing its head again. And if he had a fight with Star, that meant…

Despite himself, he'd made sure to keep up with Star- at first through Kelly, and then Hekapoo. He'd just wanted to make sure she was okay, and well, he was worried. He wondered if she should have warned her… given her time for a transition, maybe even help train a replacement. It was easy to think that way now, with the emotional distance their separation had provided. At the time, though, he doubted he could have handled it- drawing the process out like that. He didn't think it would have been good for Star either.

"She loves you, Marco. She really does." Tom said sadly "I was such an idiot. I tried _so hard_ to be good enough- to be like you! But I can't!"

"You tried to be like me?"

"You know, trustworthy, kind, friendly, supportive, clever, a great friend." Tom listed off "But…"

Marco couldn't believe it. "When you threw yourself between me and Meteora, were you just trying to be like me?"

"No..."

"What about when you put all those racist Mewman nobles in their place? Or the time you got us backstage passes to Love Sentence?"

"It's not like that, Marco. It's just, for Star… I guess sometimes I ask myself what you'd do, because Star seems to react better to that, but I always seem to screw it up… because I'm not you."

"You shouldn't try to be me. I'm not perfect, Tom. And you, you are _awesome._ " Tom scoffed at that, but Marco persisted, putting hand on his shoulder "Do you really think I'd be friends with you if you weren't? You're a good person and a good friend. So please, don't try to be like me. Just be the best version of yourself you can be."

"You're not bullshitting me, are you?"

"I'm not. I promise."

Without any further warning, Tom lunged and pulled Marco into a hug. Stunned, Marco hesitated just a moment before returning it.

* * *

"Sir Higgs! I mean, err, Lady Higgs!" Steven stammered "Something's happened with Queen Star!"

Higgs was beginning to regret pushing Marco to leave Mewni. It had seemed like a no-brainer at the moment. He'd always been a frustration- annoyingly well connected and reaping the rewards of it, irritatingly talented, vexingly likable, and infuriatingly cute. What's worse, his crush on the Queen and growing depression over it had become ever more grating. Higgs had to put a stop to it- for her own sake, _definitely_ not because she hated seeing Marco miserable.

Yet, she couldn't have predicted just how badly Queen Star would react, or the cascade of events that would follow his departure. And now, Steven, Marco's promising yet woefully unprepared replacement, was running to her (Why had he latched onto her again? She had teased him when he first came for the interview- apparently he took that as an invitation.).

"What is it now?" Higgs asked testily.

"Well, I _might_ have overheard a conversation between Star and Prince Tom, and…"

"And?"

"Well, I _think_ they broke up."

"Oh _corn_."

It was at that moment that Manfred chose to enter the hall, blaring his horn, and startling them both. "A representative of the Ponyhead kingdom has arrived at the castle."

"Oh no. No way is Queen Star prepared for a diplomatic meeting." Steven worried "What are we going to do!"

Wait a minute… the Ponyhead Kingdom? That could only mean one, impossibly annoying person. "Actually, this might be exactly what we need right now…"

"Whaaat? It's been forever since I've been here and you lot haven't even redecorated even a little?"

"Er um, greetings, uh, my lady-" Steven was silenced by Higgs clamping a hand over his mouth. He was just going to dig himself into a hole.

"Star's in her room." She said simply, hoping that would be enough to get rid of the Ponyhead princess. "Pretty sure she'd like to talk with you."

"Oh, right. Yeah, it's crazy isn't it? Apparently she and _Tom_ are-"

"Please just find her."

* * *

"What are you doing?" Tom asked.

"Texting Ponyhead."

"Why?"

"Because it occurs to me that Star probably needs a friend right now, since both of us have abandoned her." His words came out harsher then he intended, but Marco had begun to second guess some of his decisions, particularly since Tom had left Star too.

Tom winced, apparently realizing that he… they, had left Star in a bad situation. "You could go to her, you know. You could…"

"No."

"She misses you." It was tempting, so very tempting, to follow Tom's suggestion. To go to Star, promise her he'd never leave her again. To take her in his arms and never let go.

But he couldn't.

"I know, but… Tom. Even if she does want to be with me now, _I_ don't want to be with _her_ if it's just because I'm the second option. How would I know that it's real, and not just because she's lonely and heartbroken?"

"I wish I'd thought like that three years ago."

"Well we were both stupid teenagers back then. I mean, I was pretty stupid too. Pining after Jackie when _Star_ was in front of me the _whole time_. I could have saved us all a lot of pain if I hadn't been so _blind._ " Marco had spent years beating himself up over that mistake, but somehow knowing how it all turned out made the blunder feel fresh all over again.

"Yeah, we've all been pretty stupid." Tom sighed "But… at least we're still friends… somehow."

Marco chuckled. They _were_ still friends. No matter what happened between them and Star, Marco was certain that'd be true. "You know what this calls for?" Tom asked, pulling out his phone.

"What?"

Tom smirked as _Awesome Feeling_ began playing from the stereo. They sang the song together half a dozen times, their voices becoming more off key with each repetition. Finally, they gave it up as a bad job and turned to their old standby of gaming.

They were in the middle of a rather intense match of _Hellrace 4_ when Marco got a text. He wasn't in a hurry to answer it; it was probably just Ponyhead chatting about Star. When the round was over (Tom won, of course) Marco leisurely checked his phone.

Almost instantly, Marco's demeanor shifted. The smile slid off his face and his entire body tensed, ready for action. "Marco, what's wrong?" Tom asked, noticing the shift in his friend.

"It's from Talon." Marco answered "He wants to meet with me. He says he knows about an attack."

* * *

"W-wait, _Marco_ told you to find me?" Star couldn't believe it. How could Marco have known? Why would he even care?

"Yeah, totally. He texted me all like worried about you and stuff. And I was like- I gotta be there for my bestie! I've gotten all the girls together. Me. You. Kelly. Janna. We're gonna watch Korean dramas and eat our feelings. _Come on._ We haven't hung out in ages, girl!"

"I know." Star acknowledged. When Ponyhead had come careening into her room- Star had been adamant that she needed to stay focused. Her kingdom couldn't afford her having a girl's night in. But truthfully… she needed it, she _really_ needed it.

She was tired, and heartbroken, and just feeling more than a bit hopeless. Maybe a night hanging out with her friends was just the break she needed.

… and at first it was. Kelly and Janna had welcomed her with reassuring smiles and hugs- followed by collecting snacks, drinks, and gathering in comfy chairs in from of the TV.

It was perfectly mindless, and it was easy for Star to pretend that nothing was wrong. For a little while, she could pretend she hadn't been deserted by the two closest people to her and her kingdom wasn't in danger.

That was, until Kelly said Marco's name. "I don't get it, why did Marco text you about Star?" She asked Ponyhead. Star jerked from her almost trancelike state. That was actually a good question. And honestly, Star couldn't help the flare of hope when she contemplated it. It meant he still cared for her, that he wanted her to be happy, that maybe… just maybe whatever was between them wasn't completely broken. That maybe they could find each other again.

She knew how that sounded, even to herself. But it wasn't like _that_. Tom was wrong! Yeah, her friendship with Marco was unique and intimate. She trusted him above everyone else. She had relied on him like no one else. She loved him completely…. but not like that!

That was what she'd told herself time and time again. That was the truth. But why then, did her heart insist otherwise, why did it yearn for more?

Star was beginning to doubt herself. But she _couldn't_ feel that way for Marco. Because if she did, it would mean… it would mean that Tom was right, that she'd been lying to him for years and stringing him along. It would mean she had hurt the two people closest to her just because she couldn't handle her own feelings. That _couldn't_ be the truth.

"Why wouldn't he?" Janna asked rhetorically "C'mon Kelly, you know he still cares about her."

Star's heart swelled. "He does?"

"Oh, I _sure know._ " Kelly said snidely. "It's not good for him, how hung up he is on you."

Janna snickered. "Oh, I don't know about that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kelly demanded.

"Oh yeah, you gotta tell us now!" Ponyhead seconed.

"Well…" Janna's eyes flickered to Star "You don't have feelings for him, right?"

All eyes were on Star, and she suddenly felt the urge to flee under the pressure. "Of course not!" She said automatically, repeating what she'd ingrained in herself time and time again.

"Good." Janna smirked "'Cause he and I have been getting a little weird and a little wild."

"Daaaaamn."

"You _WHAT?_ "

Ponyhead and Kelly's reactions faded into background noise, because at Janna's words… Star _knew_. She was a fool. She'd been lying to herself ever since she started dating Tom. She'd hurt the love of her life, and she had hurt Tom too.

Because she loved Marco. She was in love with him. She loved everything about him- his eyes, his smile, his cute little mole. Seeing him happy made her heart sing. He was the balm to her troubles. The shoulder she leaned on. And she was too late. He had moved on. He still cared for her as a friend, but he wouldn't… _didn't_.

Without a word, Star rushed out of the room. Whatever argument Kelly and Janna had gotten in didn't even register with her. Her heart felt like it had been shattered into splinters, each one lodging deep into her chest with a sharp prick of pain. Her eyes stung as tears came, and she couldn't stop herself. She _cried._

Star was stumbling down the hallway, trying to find a bathroom, when she collided with something warm and soft. "Star?" The person asked, and a pair of arms wrapped around her. "Hey, c'mon. It'll be alright. Just let it out."

Whoever it was led her to a couch, and Star let herself be led. She didn't know, or care, who it was in that moment. She just latched onto them and did as instructed, let it all out.

Eventually, when the tears had abated somewhat, Star began talking. "I… really love him, you know?" She admitted wetly, and the words were bittersweet on her lips.

"You do?"

"Y-yeah. I love everything about him. I love his smile- it makes the entire room seem brighter. I love his cute little mole. I love his hugs. How he'd look at me when no one else was watching." She could go on.

"That sounds wonderful."

"It is… was." That was the truth. Even now, finally admitting the truth, letting her feelings free, it was wonderful. Even if it was accompanied by the bitter regret of how much time she'd wasted, and how she was _too_ late. The mystery person was still hugging her, but Star had collected herself enough to feel curious about who had come to her aid. Star pulled back, and her jaw dropped. " _Jackie?_ "

"Hey Star." The blonde returned playfully "Long time, no see?"

"What are you doing here?" She asked, before realizing just _who_ she'd spilled her heart out too. "I'm _so_ sorry!"

Jackie waved her off. "It's okay. Janna texted me like ten minutes ago to meet her at her place. Apparently I'm her go to person to deal with feelings."

"But, aren't you upset with me?"

"It's not like tears are gonna ruin this shirt."

"No… I mean aren't I _kinda_ the reason you and Marco broke up. Aren't you mad?"

Jackie chuckled "I guess Marco didn't really tell you how we broke up, did he?"

Now that Star thought about it, he'd been pretty vague about it. "He just said that he screwed up."

"Well, that's not too bad of a summary. It wasn't _really_ your fault. I'll admit, I was a _little_ miffed when you confessed your crush to him right in front of me." Yeah, that hadn't been her finest moment. "But look, Marco's problem, it was actually a lot like yours."

"What do you mean? The two of you were really happy, until..."

"Until the person Marco actually loved confessed their feelings to him and stepped out of his life. Sound familiar?"

Yeah, that hit uncomfortably close to home. "But I do care a lot about Tom."

"And Marco cared a lot about me, too. But Star, what Marco and I had… it was only half of what a relationship should be."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we did have fun together, hang out a lot. Hold hands, snuggle, kiss. It was really awesome. But it wasn't anything more than that. Marco and I only had half of what a relationship should be. The other half he shared with you. Whenever Marco was feeling down, or hurt, or had a problem, he went to you. All of his hopes and dreams, he shared with you. When it came down to it, he would always choose you."

Tears welled up in Star's eyes as she realized what Jackie was getting at. "And when I dated Tom… Marco and I, we kept that half. And Tom…" Oh god, it was all her fault. _She_ was the reason Tom was so insecure. _She_ was responsible for how miserable Marco had been. "I'm a _horrible_ friend."

"Star, look at me." Jackie said warmly "Everyone makes mistakes. And yeah, this was a big one. But you're only a horrible friend if you don't learn from it. So, what are you going to do now?"

"I need to apologize to both of them, for real." Because now it wouldn't be an empty apology for something she didn't fully understand "And I need to tell them the truth, and listen to them. I can't be with Tom anymore… and I don't think Marco wants to be with me, but as long as he can still be happy…"

"Why would you think that Marco doesn't want to be with you?"

"Well, he and Janna are together now, so I figured."

"Uhh…"

Jackie would never get to finish that thought, because at that moment a portal opened up in front of them. Surprise gave way to confusion, shock, hope, guilt and a whole host of other emotions as none other than Marco Diaz and Tom Lucitor stepped into Janna's living room.

"Marco?" Star gasped, her heart lurching. She couldn't help it, just seeing him again, even that much relit the fire of hope in her chest. By magic, she loved him.

"Star! Its Mina!" Marco shouted "There's going to be another attack! We need to get there, _now!_ "

* * *

 **A/N:** What happened between Kelly and Janna? What did Talon say to Tom and Marco? How will Star and Marco handle seeing each other again and what exactly is Mina planning? Tune in next week to find out!

Tbh, I was really hoping to fit Kelly and Janna's talk in this chapter, but while it fits thematically very well with Tom/Marco and Star/Jackie, structurally I just couldn't make it work. I _really_ didn't want to split up Star's section, so it'll just have to wait.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

"How could you Janna!" Kelly shouted, shock mingling with hurt and a sharp anger. How could she? Have sex with the guy she knew she liked, the guy who was still heartbroken over Star. For that matter, how could _he?_ Kelly had spent years by his side, supporting him, and not only did he reject her, he went off to sleep with _Janna_ without a second thought?

The more she thought about it, the more her rage boiled over. _It wasn't fair!_

"Well, when a guy and a gal think the other's really hot…" Janna drawled.

"SHUT UP!" She screeched "I don't _care_ about whatever weird obsession you have with Marco-"

"Pot meet kettle." Janna interjected.

"I should have _known_ you'd take advantage of him when he was vulnerable! Why else would Marco go out with _you_ of all people?" It was the only explanation that made sense to her in that moment.

Infuriatingly, Janna hardly seemed perturbed, still showcasing her signature smirk. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Kelly rose to the bait, bitterness and fury mingling into an explosive cocktail "Just that I think he's too good to hook up with-". Kelly never got to finish that thought, because Janna snapped her fingers, and suddenly her mouth refused to work properly. Every time she tried to talk, it was as if her tongue tripped over itself so many times the words couldn't even leave her throat.

"Wooooow." Ponyhead, who had been following the argument like one would follow a tennis match up until this point, intoned "I didn't know you could do magic!"

"Yeah, I know a few tricks." Janna said nonchalantly "Pretty usefully in keeping people from saying things they'll end up regretting." Her expression turned downright dangerous as it shifted back to Kelly. "I'm gonna give your voice back, but maybe you should actually _listen_ a bit as well."

Fuming with anger, Kelly glared in response. The _nerve_ of her to sleep with Marco, silence her with magic, and then act like Kelly was the jerk?

"Okay, first of all, you _are_ the jerk." Janna jabbed "I don't care what issues you have, you don't judge someone for their sex life. Marco and I aren't doing anything wrong!"

"Like I said, you're taking advantage of him!" Kelly accused.

"Like you did?" Janna retorted "Face it, the reason you're angry at me isn't because I tried. It's because _I succeeded._ And before you start, I _didn't_ emotionally manipulate him. _You did._ "

" _What?_ "

She had never seen Janna this mad before. She was normally so laid back, but her temper had clearly been triggered. "You heaped such a huge guilt trip on him, that he called _me_ almost in tears over it." She hissed, and the words hit Kelly like a physical blow. She hadn't meant…

"How's that any different than when Marco left Star?" Kelly demanded, feeling unfairly persecuted. She knew how upset Star had been after Marco had left, why was she the one being attacked? "What's your problem with me?"

"Marco _never_ blamed Star _or_ Tom for getting his heart broken, but _you_ ended up blamed Marco, _and_ Star _and_ me! Anything other than taking responsibility for your _own damn feelings_." Janna was practically spitting now. "You wanna know what my _problem_ with you is? You think being a good friend to Marco somehow means he _owes_ you a relationship. Marco doesn't owe you shit- except for his friendship, which _you_ threw away!"

Kelly was prepared to unleash a caustic retort, but for the life of her, she just couldn't. She was stumped. No matter how she looked at it, she couldn't find a way to defend herself or her actions. She blinked away furious tears and turned around "You know what? _Fine!_ " She choked out "You win! He's all yours anyway."

At this, Janna actually laughed "No he isn't."

Kelly whirled back around, as Ponyhead gasped "Whaaat?"

"I lied." Her tone was mischievous, and that damn smirk was back.

Kelly's mind was thrown through a loop. " _Why?_ " She demanded, was this all just to mess with her? Had all of her angst and anger really been over nothing?

"So that Star would finally admit her feelings for Marco. Which _worked_." Janna's tone was triumphant, but the revelation that Star still liked Marco barely registered with Kelly.

It had nothing to do with her, Kelly realized, nothing at all. She had just gotten caught in the crossfire. Heart sinking further, Kelly fell to her knees. Janna hadn't lied to get at her; she'd done it to force Star to admit her feelings. Star didn't have it out for her; she was just dealing with her own issues. Marco wasn't being a jerk to her; he just didn't feel the same way she did. She wasn't persecuted, maligned, or misjudged; she was just another person dealing with all the shit the world threw at them. And she was doing a horrible job at it.

Unable to even look at Janna, Kelly stared at the floor as tears spilled onto her cheeks and she uttered two words "I'm sorry."

* * *

"Marco!" Star repeated, voice brimming with shock. For the moment, thoughts of her very recent revelation of her feelings for him shoved to the back of her mind. "What… how…"

"Talon Raventalon." Marco answered "He called me." As if on cue, the avian mercenary stepped through the portal, looking a tad sheepish. "He says he and a bunch of other mercs were hired to attack an orphanage in Mewni."

"And they're specifically hiring people who look like monsters." Tom added.

Star paled. "Mina…" It didn't even matter, why or how Tom was there too. Yeah, seeing the two of them sent her heart into a tailspin, but it just _wasn't important_ right now.

"It's all a false flag. All the monster attacks." Marco declared fiercely. "It falls into every bad prejudice that Mewmans have about monsters."

"Oh god, and the _corn_." Star lamented. Of _course_ it was all Mina.

"Corn?" Marco asked.

"They've been burning corn fields, Marco! If I don't do something fast, there could be a famine!"

At her words, Marco's expression cracked with sympathy and sadness. "I'm sorry." He murmured, and Star wanted to throttle him because he was the _last_ person who should be apologizing. _She_ owed him every apology in the world, but it wasn't the time or the place to give it.

Star turned to Talon, she didn't know him very well, but he had just dropped the biggest breakthrough on Mina they'd had into their laps "Thank you for coming to us about this. If you hadn't…"

"I had to. I coached a little league team at the orphanage they're going to attack. I couldn't just let the little tikes bite it."

"Do you know when the attack is happening?" She asked.

"Like, five minutes." At the panicked looks he received, Talon quickly defended himself "What? They didn't give us a lot of time after they gave us the target!"

"Then we need to move, like _now._ " Star declared.

"Who else is here?" Marco asked, before realizing who else was in the room. "Wait, _Jackie?_ " He gaped, obviously a bit confused as to why Star and Jackie were alone together.

"Don't mind me. I'll just hang with Janna while you guys fight evil." Jackie shrugged, shooting Star a knowing grin. "Go get him."

"Kelly and Ponyhead are upstairs." Star told Marco "I'll get them, go ahead and cut a portal to the orphanage."

"Not yet." Marco dissented "Use the all-seeing-eye. If we give ourselves away, they might not show up at all."

"Right!" Star agreed. Despite the situation, Star couldn't help but feel that it was like they'd fallen into the same rhythm they'd always had- bouncing ideas off of each other and just being a team, like they were supposed to be.

"You know what this means Marco?" Tom nudged his friend.

"What?"

"That we're now the Marcnificent Six." Tom had a teasing grin on his face, and Marco rolled his eyes.

"Right. And we need to take a group photo." Talon added, eliciting groans from both Tom and Marco.

Star ignored the byplay and barged into Janna's room. She was shocked to see Kelly in tears."I-I didn't mean to hurt him. I just _really_ liked him, and-"

"The drama can wait!" Star shouted "Kelly, Ponyhead- Mina's attacking and we need all the help we can get. You in?"

* * *

The wait for the attack to happen, even if it was only a few minutes, was excruciating. Star couldn't stop her eyes from drifting away from the seeing-eye spell and back to Marco.

It was hard to resist the urge to tell him _everything_. To apologize, plead forgiveness, and confess her affection, but she knew it wasn't the right time. Tom was _right there_. There was no way she could do that right in front of him- she'd already hurt Tom enough.

At the very least he deserved a conversation beforehand- an apology, an official breaking off, and above all he deserved space, time, and not having her feelings for Marco shoved in his face.

Not to mention, she'd be confessing her feelings for Marco right in front of his _girlfriend_. She'd already done that once, and that was one time too many. Star hadn't missed the byplay between Marco and Janna. How she had winked at him and nudged him teasingly when he followed Star into her room.

It hurt, it hurt a lot knowing that she had foolishly wasted her chance _again_. She wasn't under any illusions. Marco wasn't going to drop everything and go back to her. She screwed up and she had to live with that, but still, she owed him the truth.

"It's happening!" Marco shouted, drawing Star from her thoughts. _Right_ , time for drama later, she reminded herself. It was dusk in Mewni, and a group of seven mercenaries had just stepped out of a portal onto the street in front of the orphanage. The building was run down but expansive, and built in a style not dissimilar to St. Olgas, while the mercenaries were loaded to bear, encased in armor and equipped with a multitude of weapons apiece.

The entire room, sans Jackie and Janna, charged through one of the several portals as Marco cut them open. Tom, and Pony Head pincered the attack force with Kelly and Talon. Meanwhile, Star and Marco landed behind the orphanage "Mina's forces usually attack from multiple directions, trying to box people in." Marco explained "I figured the others could handle the other force."

Just as Marco had suspected, a portal opened up to their side and the two of them repositioned themselves to face the threat. Star couldn't help but notice that the portal wasn't opened with scissors- it seemed to just open up on its own. Ten heavily armored mercenaries charged out, almost tripping over themselves when they realized they not only had opposition, but _who_ their opponents were.

As one, Star and Marco sprang into action. Star bombarded them with a barrage of spells while Marco took advantage of their distraction and leapt behind them. He took a few of them out with a few well-placed strikes before sprinting towards the portal. One of their opponents- a wolf-like warrior wielding a large battle axe- tried to pursue him, but Star's 'Strawberry Annihilation' sent him crashing into the wall of the adjacent building.

The moment Marco reached to portal, it snapped shut, and Marco let out a huff of disappointment. One of the mercenaries, realizing the futility of fighting again the Queen of Mewni, shouted "Get the dude!".

Star retaliated by rainbow-fist-punching him into the air. Marco, for his part, wasn't the easy prey that their opponents were hoping for. He easily eluded and parried the attacks sent his way, even when outnumbered. With a battle cry, Star launched herself at the nearest one, knocking him out with a flying kick. She used that kick to propel herself further into the air, somersault, and land elegantly at Marco's side.

Star looked sidelong at Marco, and they shared a knowing grin. The two of them danced around each other as they exchanged blows and spellfire with their enemies. Star kept an eye on Marco, making sure he didn't get overwhelmed, but almost payed for it when a mercenary lunged a spear at her in her blind spot. Marco, however, did spot it and lunged deftly to deflect it to the side.

Marco furiously began to throttle the warrior who almost hurt her, and the panicking man shouted "Okay, okay, I surrender!"

Marco paused, but didn't let up his grip, while Star kept her wand leveled at the remaining raiders. "Anyone wanna follow his lead?"

With a few shared looks, they quickly dropped their weapons and raised their arms. "Good choice." Star approved.

Marco still hadn't released the mercenary and was now regarding him with a glare "Tell us everything you know. _Now._ " He demanded, shaking him. The action dislodged a small satchel, which fell the ground and spilled a slew of golden coins onto the ground.

* * *

Star was calling his name, but Marco could barely hear her. A chill had gripped his chest, and his eyes were locked on the golden coin that had fallen out of the merc's satchel, more specifically the rune engraved on it.

There was only one place in the universe that used that language- a place that Marco had spent ample time in. "Where. Did. You. Get. That. Coin." He growled.

The man was practically shaking as Marco's grip tightened. "That's how we were paid! By a main at a pub! I swear I don't know nothing else!" Marco threw him to the ground, and picked up the coin. It couldn't be. _It couldn't,_ his heart insisted. But it made too much sense.

There was reason why Mina always seemed to be one step ahead of them, how her forces always seemed to retreat in the nick of time. There was a reason they seemed to have more funds than they should have. They had thought that maybe some of the nobility were supporting her, but _no_. It went much higher.

It wasn't that Hekapoo _couldn't_ track the portals that Mina used, it was that she _wouldn't._

At this his heart cried out. Hekapoo was his friend! Even if she was prejudiced against monsters, shewouldn't betray him!

 _Like she betrayed Meteora, dooming a baby to live a life of persecution? Like when she trapped you in her dimension of sixteen years?_

Fuck.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. It was Star, looking up at him with shining eyes. "Marco, are you okay?"

The love and tenderness in her eyes tore his heart to shreds, but he beat the surge of emotion back- this wasn't the time. Looking back, he found that his friends had gathered – including Tom, who was watching the two of them sadly, and Kelly, who couldn't even meet his eyes. "Follow me." Marco said.

He cut open a portal to dimension X-103. Very few people knew about the dimension, and even fewer had access to it- which made the fact that their enemies had gotten access to treasure from Hekapoo's dimension all the more damning.

The transition to his older body had gotten much less dramatic over the years. He'd grown quite a bit- so the difference now mostly came down to bulk and scars. Seamlessly, he stepped through the portal, into Hekapoo's forge, and broke his scissors apart, igniting them into flaming daggers.

"Marco-" Hekapoo greeted, but wasn't able to get out another word before Marco struck. He swung at the half forged blade she was currently crafting, ruining it and scattering it to the ground.

"What the hell!" Hekapoo shouted. Marco struck again, forcing her to dodge backwards. He sheathed one of his blades and grabbed her in a chokehold, forcing her against the wall.

Fury surged within him as he beheld one of his closest friends. _Traitor._ "WHY DID YOU DO IT?" He shouted, levelling his other dagger at her.

"Marco! I don't know what you're talking about!" Hekapoo choked.

"Don't bullshit me!" He raged. He sheathed his dagger and pulled out the coin "Recognize this?" He could see the recognition in her eyes. Good, he could still read her "I found this on mercenaries hired by Mina to _slaughter an orphanage._ "

Hekapoo shook her head minutely "I didn't do this! I swear!"

"Do you really expect me to believe someone was able to sneak into your dimension without your knowledge?" Marco hissed "I know how it works; no one can get in or out of here without _you_ knowing."

"Marco, please!" Hekapoo pleaded "I didn't! I'd _never_!" He looked her in the eyes and what he saw shook him. "You're like, one of the only friends I have. I wouldn't do that to you!" Her heartfelt words and earnest eyes shattered his resolve.

Oh god, how could he seriously have thought Hekapoo would betray him?

Marco snapped backward, reeling as Hekapoo gasped for breath. "I- I don't understand." He muttered "If it wasn't you…" He looked back at his friends, who all seemed shocked and confused by the course of events, and he didn't blame them. "Then who?"

"So wait, did someone actually just set Hekapoo up?" Tom asked.

"Who could even do that?" Star puzzled.

And suddenly, his mind flashed to a detail from the book he'd gotten from that coven, and it all made sense. The dread chill had settled in his chest again. Because Hekapoo hadn't betrayed them… but someone _had_.

"Hekapoo, are you able to track-"

Marco would never get to finish that thought, because as he said those words a portal opened under his feet. Before he could even react, he was falling through.

"Marco!" Star cried, lunging for him with terror in her eyes- too late.

He reached out, even though he knew it was a lost cause. Their hands slipped past each other as Marco fell, and he could only take one last look at her face before the portal closed.

* * *

 **A/N:** I'll admit, I actually _did_ have Hekapoo betraying them in like the first outline I had, but after writing their first scene together I realized I couldn't do it. So something I little different's gonna happen. As always thank you to everyone who's commented so far!


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Star stumbled to her knees- she had overextended herself when she dove for Marco- and skidded to a halt right were her best friend had been- right where he'd disappeared before her very eyes.

"Oh god. He's gone." Star keened "He's gone. He was _right there_ and he's gone."

At this very moment, Marco might be in Mina's clutches, and at her non-existent mercy. He could be being tortured, or _dead_. And she never told him, he might die not knowing that she loved him. Oh magic, she thought losing his friendship was hard, but the thought of Marco _dying_ put it all in perspective.

She was at the edge of breaking down when Kelly's firm voice pierced through her grief "Star! Get yourself together. Don't tell me you're just going to give up on him!" She cajoled. Something inside of Star rebelled at the mere thought of _giving up_ on Marco… she'd _never._

"Do you think Marco would _ever_ give up on any of us if we were in danger?" Kelly asked her.

He wouldn't. Marco would never, ever give up. Even if it was hopeless, even if he had nothing to go on, he'd at least _try_. What was she doing? She was about to cry when she could be doing something, _anything_ to try to save Marco.

"Thanks." Star sniffed, returning to her feet. "You're right. He wouldn't give up, and we aren't either."

She looked around the room, from Kelly's steeled gaze, to Tom, who seemed torn, to Hekapoo, who just looked shellshocked. "That being said, I'm open to a plan, or suggestions, or anything really."

Her words hung in the air uncomfortably until, hesitantly, Hekapoo put in "What I don't get is, if whoever did this could kidnap people from anywhere in the universe. Why take Marco, and why take him _now?_ If they can do this, why don't they try to kidnap you, Star?"

"I'm pretty sure Marco had _just_ figured out who did it. He was about to ask you _something._ Something that would have given whoever betrayed us away." Star speculated "Uhg! How could they possibly have known to take him at exactly the right moment, unless…"

A few probing glances were being thrown at Talon and Hekapoo, but Star's mind flashed to the all-seeing-eye. Eclipsa would be able to spy on them, maybe even find a way to make portals without Hekapoo knowing, but it just didn't make sense. Why would she help Mina, someone who hates monsters? Unless it was just a ploy to spark a monster revolt…

Wait. She was missing something. "I'm an _idiot!_ " She slapped her forehead. "I can just use the all seeing eye to find him!" It was like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Yeah, she didn't have the best history with the spell, but if it could find Marco... there wasn't time to waste.

" _I summon the all-seeing-eye to tear a hole into the sky. Reveal to me that which is hidden, unveil to me that which is forbidden."_ Anticipation grew in her chest as she cast the spell, hope and fear rising in equal measure. She felt the magic surge through her, to her wand, and then outward. The purple ring formed in front of her and within… nothing. Nothing at all, just blackness.

No. _Nononono._

"NO!" Star's scream of defiance was a primal sound that burst forth from deep within her. This wasn't right. He wasn't dead. He _couldn't_ be dead.

" _Oh no_."

"That doesn't mean…"

The spell was wrong. It had to be. It was lying to her. _He couldn't be dead._ He just _couldn't._ Despite her frantic denials, her heart felt like it was ripping itself to shreds, and she couldn't help but shed a few hot, stinging tears.

"Star, please calm down."

"I guess we're never gonna take that photo."

"Are you seriously worrying about your stupid photo right now?"

 _Oh god. Oh god ohgodohgod._ He was dead and it was all her fault.

"She's hyperventilating, what do we do?"

"What are you looking at me for?"

"You helped her last time!"

"If only Marco were here…"

"Well he _isn't_ here!"

"I know how to find him."

Even though Tom's words were softly spoken, they cut through the chaos that had erupted, bringing silence to the room and wrenching Star from her breakdown.

"You do?" Star entreated.

"Well…" Tom hesitated, his voice grew pained "There's something I need to know, for this to work… Are you in love with him?"

"Tom…"

"Please be honest."

"I'm sorry." Star bowed her head in guilt "I do. I love him."

Tom sniffled, and the noise reflexively drew Star's gaze. He had brought a hand to cover his face, but she knew that behind it must have been tears. "Tom. I'm sorry, so sorry. I- there's really no excuse." As she said this, Star slid off her engagement ring, and gave it to Tom. "You deserve better."

Tom looked down at the ring in his hand, and clenched it into a fist. "I know." Tom replied tensely. "Believe me Star, _I know_. It doesn't make it better, but I _do_ understand… and I want you both to be happy. Even now." His voice was rough with emotion, which didn't change as he continued "But Star, because you love him… I think that means there's a way. The blood moon."

Star gasped "I thought it was just a legend! Are you saying…"

"Star, it's real."

"What does the blood moon have to do with anything?" Hekapoo asked "It's not like… wait, you… and Marco?"

Star nodded.

"You and Marco danced under the blood moon?" Hekapoo pressed.

"They did." Tom answered for her "I was there."

"Then what the hell weren't you and Marco dating in the first place?" She berated "All three of you _knew_ , so _why?_ " The implications were blatant. Why didn't she and Marco get together? Why did she and Tom date at all? And neither of them could come up with a good answer.

"I didn't think it was _real!_ " Star cried out. In hindsight, she should have known. But after the ball, she sort of just dismissed it. She hadn't understood her feelings for Marco at that point (and wouldn't until she almost had to watch him get crushed to death by Toffee). There was no way she could have admitted to _liking_ him, let alone him being her _soulmate_.

"I… I guess it was just wishful thinking." Tom said sadly.

"Can someone please explain what's going on?" Kelly asked.

"The blood moon ball occurs once every six hundred and sixty seven years. At the ball, the blood moon choses two people who are _exceptionally_ well suited for each other and binds their souls together, _forever._ " Hekapoo explained. "Apparently the blood moon didn't account for the people it chose being utter _morons._ "

"Okay. I get it, I screwed up. But how is the blood moon supposed to help?"

"The legends say that blood moon lovers can sense each other, find each other, across dimensions even." Tom told her heavily "They say that if you focus on him, on how you feel about him, then you'll be able to feel a connection to him, and it will guide you back together."

Tom's eyes found Star's as he said this, and Star had to blink away tears. "Tom… thank you."

"He's my friend too. So if you can save him, then… do it."

It seemed like a fool's hope, but it was all she had. So Star closed her eyes and _felt_.

 _I don't want you to go, I want you to stay._ She remembered when she and Marco first became friends. How happy she'd been to find a friend on Earth. She remembered how patient he'd been with her, showing her the ins and outs of human technology and culture. She remembered their adventures- exploring dimensions and fighting monsters hand in hand.

She remembered falling for him in stages. When her Mewberty forcibly made her realize her bestie was a boy. How entranced she'd been by the beautiful 'stranger' that had danced with her at the Blood Moon ball. When Toffee threatened his life, and Star realized just how precious he was to her, and just how much she'd give up for him.

And he _was_ precious to her. Marco, who'd guided her and helped her become a better person and queen. Marco, who could always life her spirits even with just his presence. Marco, who she'd always felt a deep connection to, who she always felt like she _belonged_ with. When he was by her side, she felt invincible. When they were in each other's arms, it felt like coming come. Marco- her best friend, the love of her life, her soulmate.

What she wouldn't give up to save him now. _Please._ She begged desperately. _Please let him be alive. Please let it not be too late. Even if he wants to be with Janna, even if he never wants to see me again. Please._

Her prayers were answered. She heard several gasps, and when she opened her eyes, she realized the room was bathed in the red light of the blood moon. But even more than that- Star could _feel_ him- a presence linked to her heart that felt distinctly _Marco_ \- it felt like nights spent cuddling while watching a movie, like fighting together in battle, working in perfect harmony, it felt like his hugs and his smiles, his kindness and determination. She reached out to him (she couldn't _not_ ), and almost toppled backwards from the force of emotions rolling off of him.

Greif unlike anything she'd ever felt before. So all-consuming and painful that Star began to cry herself. _Oh Marco_ , what could possibly make him feel this way? She needed to find him… _now_.

She reached deeper across the bond, and now she could feel a _tug_ , pulling her to him _._ Instinctively, she transformed into her butterfly form and used the tug to guide the creation of a portal. She took one last look around the room, and motioned for everyone to follow her.

It was at that point that Marco's emotions shifted suddenly from grief to _rage_.

* * *

Marco tumbled to the ground, landing awkwardly and trying to right himself as quickly as possible. It was all for nothing, Marco was grabbed almost immediately- his arrival had been expected.

"You!" Marco spat.

"Yes, me." Omnitraxus Prime replied coolly.

"What the fuck is wrong with you! You betrayed us! Star, Hekapoo! Do you really hate monsters that much?" Marco raged as he struggled helplessly. If only he could reach his scissor blades, but his arms were pinned to his sides by Omnitraxus' grip. He truly was massive in his true form within the Time dimension- and to be honest Marco didn't completely understand all of his powers.

"You might as well stop struggling; there are no potential futures in which you escape." Omnitraxus said offhandedly "And for the record, Mewni's relationship with Monsterkind is not my main concern."

"Well I'm not about to take your word for it." Marco retorted as he continued to thrash. Omnitraxus did not seem to be in a hurry- in fact, he seemed to be mulling his options over. Maybe, he could stall him? Keep him talking long enough that Star could find him- maybe with the all seeing eye…"So what's your problem, then?" He asked.

"My problem, Marco Diaz, is _you._ "

That caught Marco by surprise " _Me?_ "

"Yes, now hush. Do you think I'm daft? I know there's only a minute or so left until Star uses that scrying spell to try to find you. I'm going to _deal_ with you before that happens, and you aren't going to be able to distract me."

 _Deal with me?_ "Are you going to kill me?"

"Of course not! Well, not directly. That sort of thing leaves a permanent mark. It's one that could only be discovered through dark magic, but most futures from this point have Star delving deeply into dark magics, resulting in her uncovering the truth and exacting her revenge upon me." Omnitraxus explained all of this matter-of-factly, as if he were solving a math problem.

Marco was reeling. Not _directly?_ Star, going dark? If he wasn't bluffing, it almost seemed like Omnitraxus could see everything coming. What chance did they have against that?

"So no, I won't be killing you. I'll be sending you to a parallel timeline where you'll meet a gruesome fate post-haste. Ah, that's the one!"

At the being's exclamation, Marco found himself being shoved into Omnitraxus' chest, and was confronted by a dazzling array of crystals- each with snippets of different worlds reflected in them. He'd heard Star's story about meeting Omnitraxus Prime, but her words honestly did not do the experience justice.

Omnitraxus led him deeper and deeper into the field of crystals, until Marco was faced with one that was fractured and laced with tendrils of blackness.

 _That doesn't look good._

"Well Marco, I congratulate you on being such a thorn in my side, but now it's time for you to go." Omnitraxus said, before flinging Marco at the crystal. Marco bit back a scream as his body collided with the crystal and felt… nothing. Instead, he passed seamlessly through the barrier, his vision blurring and morphing in ways that hurt his brain as he did so. Moments later, reality reasserted itself and Marco tumbled once again to the ground.

Quickly, he righted himself. Wherever he was, it was supposed to kill him, so he needed to keep an eye out for threats. Frankly though, there wasn't much to see. He was alone on a craggy outcropping of a barren mountainside. Alone that is, except for one figure who appeared chained up not far away.

He cautiously approached it, and felt his heart drop when he recognized who it was.

"Star!" He called, breaking into a run. His heart clenched at the sight of her. She looked terrible. Her skin was bone white, and marred by black energy running through her veins. Her cheek marks were _broken_ , cracked right down the middle. He would have mistaken her for dead if her eyes hadn't flickered toward him- and broadcast such a whirlwind of emotions- grief, hope, disbelief, and resignation. _Oh Star, what's happened to you?_

He skidded to a halt beside her, and used his scissor blades to slice through the chains binding her to the mountainside, but Star merely slumped over. "Marco." She moaned "I guess I really am losing it? Is this it? Is it over?"

"Star, it's okay. I'm here now." Marco soothed, enfolding her in a tender hug.

"But you can't be." She babbled. "You're dead. Does this means, I'm dead too?"

 _Oh Star._ His heart cried out. He'd died in this world already, leaving her behind to suffer. _Not anymore._ He was here now, and he was going to take care of her.

"It's a long story… I'm from a parallel timeline. Omnitraxus from my world sent me here to… well he sent me here, so I'm real, and alive."

Star let out a hiccoughing sob. "You're real?"

"I promise."

"Oh _Marco_." She wept, her arms wrapped around his body weakly. "I- I- I missed you." Marco didn't know how to respond expect to pull her closer. "E-everyone's dead. You were one of the last people left, but then T-toffee… he got you too! He- he…"

 _Toffee?_ Marco felt a chill go through his heart. "I'm so sorry Star." He murmured "I'm sure I tried my best to stay with you."

"You did. You were wonderful. It's my fault for dragging you into this. I-if you'd just stayed on Earth you'd be-"

"Nothing. Nothing but 'the safe kid' until the day I died. You have no idea how wonderful you made my life. I guarantee you Star, I didn't regret going with you. I don't regret a thing." Marco insisted, pulling back so he could look into her eyes and she could see his sincerity.

Star's eyes roamed his face hungrily, drinking him in. "Marco… I regret some things." She confessed.

"Star…"

"Please, let me do this. I don't have long- not with Toffee's magic in me." She insisted. Mustering her strength, she tried to pull her head up, but failed.

"What is it, Star?" Marco said, tenderly cupping her cheek in his hand.

"I love you." She admitted, tears spilling over her cheeks "I love you, and I never got to say it. You never knew."

"I love you too." Marco returned, his heart clenching bittersweetly at the admission "I love you so much, Star."

"Kiss me." She entreated, and Marco realized that was what she'd been trying to do moments ago. Wordlessly, he leaned down, cradling her head in his hands, and pressed his lips gently to hers. Star's eyes fluttered shut as their lips met, and her mouth curved into a soft smile as he pulled back. He noticed in amazement that her cheek marks were healing, the cracks being filled in once again.

"Star, your cheek marks, they're healing." Marco told her, to no response. "Star?" He asked, laying a hand back to her cheek again.

Marco felt a deep chill settle in his heart, but he couldn't, didn't _dare_ acknowledge why it was there. "Star!" He barked, shaking her roughly. " _Star!"_ He repeated, his voice breaking.

 _Nonononono._ "STAR!"

 _No._

"Please Star. _Please._ I can't… I can't…" _I can't lose you. I can't do this without you. I can't live in a world that doesn't have you in it._ "Please. _Stay._ "

Star didn't respond. She just lay there in his arms, still, lifeless, _dead._

Marco had no more words, just a soul wrenching sob as he hugged Star's lifeless body to him. She was dead. His best friend. The woman he loved. His soulmate. He thought he knew what pain felt like when he was living with his unrequited crush, and when he broke things off with Star, but that was nothing, _nothing_ compared to this.

Star was so vibrant and wonderful, knowing that her light had been snuffed out, it was beyond agony. Maybe this dimension hadn't killed him yet, but it certainly made him want to die.

"Well, I'll admit, I wasn't expecting _this._ "

Marco froze, grief dispelled momentarily in favor of white hot _rage_. He set Star's body down, and rose to meet him. _Toffee._

* * *

 **A/N:** I'm aware that I haven't really explained Omnitraxus' motivation, that'll be next time. Kudos for everyone who called Omnitraus! I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

Omnitraxus Prime relaxed. Years of plotting and secrecy had pushed him to his limits. Peering through the murky lens of causality to see every potential and every possibility, was challenging. Subtly nudging events to unfold in the way he desired was even more so. Even a small change created ripples that could cause hard to predict effects- even for him- so he had needed to maintain constant vigilance.

But now, it was almost over. Marco Diaz had been taken care of, and to him it was inconsequential whether Star Butterfly was now firmly on the path to being deposed. The influence of the Earth dimension and the changes it could unleash had been stopped- the position and power of the Magical High Commission was secure. The fact that the chain of events he had instigated had crippled attempts to integrate monsters into Mewni was just an added bonus.

Seeing how close Toffee had come, how close he'd, by negligence, had _let_ Toffee come to ruling all of Mewni had been a wakeup call. He couldn't afford to stand idle. But, the more he looked into possible futures, the more his concerns grew. Nearly every timeline had vast changes sweeping over the universe- including social unrest, revolution, wars, and at the end of it all he and the rest of the magical high commission would become irrelevant, obsolete.

So he went to work, at first just nudging events to drive Marco Diaz away from Mewni. He hadn't needed to do _that_ much to drive him apart from Star Butterfly; for the most part he just had to make sure they never, ever got into a photo booth together. Then there was propping up Mina, who was really just a tool to make Star's position as Queen untenable. It had taken almost three years, but he was finally in the home stretch.

So when a golden portal opened up in front of him and Star Butterfly flew through it, Omnitraxus was, for the first time in centuries, taken by surprise. Even when Toffee had struck, he had seen the one small winding path to victory and played his part accordingly, but this… this was truly unexpected.

Emotions played across her face quick as lightening- confusion, understanding, fury. "You…" She growled. " _Where's Marco?_ "How had she found him? More importantly, how had she circumvented his powers? These questions whirled through Omnitraxus' head, but Star would not give him time to ponder him.

She launched herself into the air, golden wings unfolding, her six hands crackled with golden energy, a prelude to the beam of light that was now on course to disintegrate him. Omnitraxus distorted the space in front of him, deflecting the beam over his head- though he still felt the heat from it. Star hadn't waited to see if her attack had landed, but instead had immediately followed up with another bolt of energy, and another, and another. With a savagery he'd never seen from her before, Star launched a barrage of some of the most powerful magical attacks he'd ever seen at him, and it took everything Omnitraxus had to merely avoid being hit.

Gone was her normal style of spellcasting- none of her trademark spells made an appearance, only pure, concentrated magical power that sizzled in the air. Even while on the backfoot against Star, he tried to make sense of what was happening, or more precisely, what would happen. Everything had been thrown into flux, but if he could just recalibrate…

Too late. Star had gotten around his defenses by portalling behind him. He hadn't seen it coming until it was too late, and all he could do was raise his arm to shield himself from the golden beam of energy hurtling towards him. The blast struck at his elbow, purple and black motes were cast into the air as his forearm was severed and fell to the ground.

Despite being a near omniscient being, the severing of an arm still hurt immensely. All thoughts of his grander plan fell from his mind as the pain robbed him of his faculties. The force of the attack combined with his disorientation succeeded in toppling over.

Star hovered above him, hands still glowing, ready to strike, but she held. "ANSWER ME!" She shouted "WHERE'S. MARCO." With each word, Omnitraxus felt an aggressive pulse of magic from her. Through the haze, he tried to focus, and his understanding of the timelines returned.

There was only one way he'd get out of this alive.

"I surrender."

* * *

Star's fury burned in her heart. It burned with the power of a sun, and it was only egged on by the matching fury that Marco seemed to be feeling at that very moment. "I don't care. If you don't tell me where Marco is, I'll… I'll… _kill you._ " Part of her balked at her threat, not because she made it, but because she _meant it._ She could strike him down right now, and the only think that stayed her hand was that Omnitraxus could find Marco.

"I sent him to an alternate timeline." A dozen questions whirled through her mind. Why would he do this? Betray them, send Marco away... for what? What was his plan? What was Marco doing right now? But Star shunted them aside, they weren't important right now, not until she found Marco.

"Bring him back."

"I can't."

"LIAR!" Star anger flared, because there was no way, _no way_ that she was going to let Marco stay trapped in another timeline, _no way_ that she'd let Omnitraxus' bullshit from keeping him from the people who loved him.

"I'm not lying! I can send people to other timelines, but bringing them back requires there being a copy of me in that timeline." Star wasn't buying it, but if he was going to continue to refuse to help her she had only two options- humor him or follow through on her threat and try to get Marco back on her own.

Before she could make a decision, however, the others arrived, led by Hekapoo. She startled for a moment at seeing Omnitraxus, before she was consumed by rage. "You! You _asshole!_ " She seethed, flames erupting from her head. "WHY?"

"I've _seen_ what's going to happen. I only took the necessary steps to avoid disaster." Omnitraxus demurred

"What disaster?"

"War. Chaos. Upheaval! And it all ends with the high commission _obsolete_." Omnitraxus proclaimed "And I could have stopped it all! I should have been able to stop it all. I just don't understand how I failed. How you found me."

Star didn't care. Even as her friends all began shouting and arguing, she didn't care. She didn't care about why he did it, at least not at the moment, because right now Marco was gone and she had no idea how to get to him.

"It's the humans! They've already gotten their hands on magic, and soon they're going to change _everything_." Omnitraxus pleaded, but Star tuned him out, instead focusing on that connection between her and Marco. She could still feel that tug, a pull at her heart that guided her towards him, and right now it was telling her to go towards Omnitraxus.

It all was suddenly clear to her.

"I'm going after him." She declared. Before anyone could react or question how she planned to do that, Star dived strait towards Omnitraxus' chest and into the vast expanse of parallel timelines he held within him. The pull at her heart was unerring, and she followed it to one cracked and blackened crystal. Without a moment's hesitation, she flew in.

 _I'm coming Marco._

* * *

Toffee regarded Marco coolly "I find myself at a loss, Marco. I seem to remember killing you. Tearing you limb from limb while your precious friend watched." He said this with the same calm, calculating demeanor that Marco remembered, from his memories and his nightmares. In different circumstances it might have intimidated him, but now, it infuriated him.

"Well I seem to remember Star utterly _destroying_ you, so I guess we're both disappointed."

The cunning lizard quickly worked out Marco's meaning. "So, you're from a parallel timeline? Well, no matter, just another loose end to clean up." Clearly, Toffee didn't consider him a threat. Marco would have to disabuse him of that notion.

The two whirled into motion. Marco ducked and rolled, narrowly dodging the bolt of green energy Toffee shot at him. He'd been inches from death, but Marco hadn't flinched. With a fluid grace, he drew his scissor blades, and rolled again. Once again Toffee's magic didn't find its mark, and Marco was able to clip the lizard in the leg.

Toffee hissed, and lashed out with his tail and magic simultaneously. Marco leapt into the air and twisted to evade both attacks. However, the move put him in a precarious position. He landed right on the ledge, and when Toffee struck at Marco once again, he had little choice but let himself fall off to avoid the blow.

Marco was tumbling in midair, but Toffee wasn't sitting idly. He propelled himself downward, shooting Marco a sinister smile as he passed him, and landing on the ground with enough force to crack the stone beneath him. Toffee looked back up at him, and his eyes glowed a sinister green as he readied another attack.

That was exactly what Marco had been waiting for. As angry as Marco was, he wasn't stupid. He couldn't fight Toffee hand to hand and hope to win. Not when he had massive regenerative abilities and the most powerful magic in the universe on his side.

No, Marco would have to play dirty. All he needed was a way to get Star's body out of the crossfire. So, once Toffee landed, Marco rejoined his scissor blades, and struck. The blades tore into the fabric of reality, and slowed Marco's fall to a halt as they opened the portal. He then used his upper body strength to swing his body upwards, back-flipping into the portal he had opened.

Hekapoo's forge had seen better days. The building had been built to last with strong magical enchantments, but it must have been millennia since its caretaker had attended to it. The stone was worn and cracked, the metal was rusted and warped, the forge itself was cold and dark- Hekapoo's fire had long since died out.

Marco clenched his fist. He'd avenge her too.

* * *

It had taken him almost two months, or a mere five seconds on Mewni, but at last it was finally ready.

Marco had gone through many ideas, but most of them had been unworkable. Close range weapons just wouldn't do for what he had in mind. He'd even considered a gun, but even then it would be difficult to be clear of the blast radius he had in mind. Instead, Marco crafted a small metallic disk. It was engraved with glowing orange runes, and it pulsed with a violent, almost living, heat.

It was time.

Marco returned to the mountainside where he'd left Toffee those weeks ago. His emotions had hardened and cooled during the time he'd spent in Hekapoo's dimension, but with his return to Mewni, his grief and fury returned with such sudden force that Marco almost doubled over. The wounds that Marco had buried with tireless work were suddenly fresh once more.

No. He had a job to do. He'd arrived back to where he'd found Star, and from his vantage point he could see Toffee clearly. Marco's thumb found the top of the disk and pressed inward. The button depressed with a click, and Marco dropped the bomb.

He had five seconds. Marco quickly scooped Star's body in his arms, and cut open a portal that deposited them at a mountaintop a little over a mile away. Marco gently set Star's body to the ground, and turned just in time to feel the heat on his face.

* * *

There was always another annoyance, Toffee mused.

He'd defeated the magical high commission, the Queen and Princess of Mewni and all of their allies. Yet there was always someone else. Rebels from an outlying dimension that demanded autonomy, witches from Earth that fancied themselves more important than they actually were, some rotting necromancer that thought he found a way around Toffee's regenerative abilities.

All of them had failed, but they had all succeeded in irritating him.

And now he had to deal with Marco Diaz, again. The brat that wouldn't just give up. The one that, even after he'd killed the high commission and broken the royal wand, had led an underground, cross dimensional resistance for years. For so long, he'd been a thorn in his side, and just when Toffee thought he'd finally been rid of him, through some twist of fate he was back.

To make things more frustrating, he'd gotten away. Toffee had seen the fire in his eyes, and had been certain that the boy would fight him to the death, but apparently he'd come to his senses at the last moment, and escaped while he could. This wasn't ideal. He'd be able to rally scattered forces, and more or less do what the original had been doing- raiding, sabotage, and generally being a nuisance.

Toffee's was drawn from his thoughts by the thud of a small metallic disk as it landed at his feet. Odd, it practically radiated magic… with a jolt of fear Toffee realized, it could be a trap.

Toffee leapt away as a portal expanded from the edges of the device. While his reaction was swift, he hadn't prepared for what would _come out_ of the portals. Not enemies, but a highly pressurized torrent of lava.

The lava burst from the portal with immense speed and was flung outward in all directions. Instinctively, Toffee raised a shield that diverted the lava away from him- but he neglected to shield himself from the _heat_. He screamed in pain as his skin charred before his very eyes, and that lapse in focus was his undoing. His defenses faltered and the lava broke through- soon enveloping him.

All Toffee could feel was pain.

And then he felt nothing at all.

* * *

A/N: Well, this story is nearing its conclusion. Next week's update will be the last, and you will die from having your heart warmed. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this update, and look forward to hearing what you think!


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

As lava quickly overtook the mountains surrounding Toffee, Marco briefly felt a grim satisfaction. Either the bastard was dead, or he wished he was.

However, as quickly as it came, it fell away. These past two months, he'd shoved aside everything- the pain and heartbreak- to focus on taking Toffee down. Now that he'd succeeded, what was left?

He looked down at Star's corpse. It felt wrong. Star was always so animated, colorful, full of life- her unmoving, sunken, hollow _shell_ felt like an abomination. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Not to Star. Never to her.

But it was real.

Marco fell to his knees, long repressed tears breaking free once again. "I'm sorry, _Star._ " He wept. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry, so sorry."

This was his reality now, but Marco didn't want to live in a world where Star was dead.

Marco was startled from his grief by what sounded somewhat like shattering glass, but also reverberated dissonantly like a gong. He looked up in time to see the space in front of him facture, cracks spreading from a single point. Then the sound came again, this time accompanied by a fist punching its way through. The arm drew back, but then three hands began prying at the hole it had created, breaking off pieces and casting them aside.

Marco's heat leapt in hope. It could only be one person.

Finally, Star was able to claw herself through the rift she had created. "Marco!" She gasped, catching sight of him. She launched herself in the air, wings flattening as she made a bee line towards him.

He whispered her name like a prayer. At one point Marco had thought her butterfly form had been scary, but right now she looked like an angel.

She pulled up right in front of him, she took in his tear streaked face, and her gaze flickered to the body at his feet. " _Oh._ Oh, _Marco._ " Without further prompting, she gathered him in her arms. She held him gently, tenderly, each of her hands either cradling his body or caressing him soothingly. "Shh, its okay. I'm here. It's okay." She murmured, and the sheer affection in her voice broke Marco's defenses as much as her loving touch.

" _Star._ " Marco broke down crying "I-I" He couldn't find the words. How much it hurt, how seeing her again was like a balm to his soul, even as his heart still wrenched itself over the death of her other self.

So instead of speaking, he just _clung._ He held onto her like his life depended on it. Like she was the one thing keeping him from drowning and slipping forever into the abyss. Like she was his lifeline.

In response, her arms wound around him tighter, clutching him to her chest and resting her cheek atop his head. Marco sunk into her embrace, tension easing from him as his tears trailed off. They might have stayed like that for days, or perhaps it was only seconds- enjoying the mutual security and comfort that came from holding each other. "I've got you, Marco. I've got you, and I'm never letting go again. I-if you'll have me."

Marco pulled back slightly, but only so he could see her face. "Star… what are you saying?"

"I love you Marco. I'm in love with you, and I have been all this time. I've been a complete idiot, and I'm so, so _sorry_ , for _everything._ And I _know_ that you've moved on, I know that you're happy with Janna and you deserve to be. B-but- I though you deserved to know how I felt."

Those were the words Marco had been hoping to hear for years, and she was saying them. She loved him. She loved him. _She loved him._ The chant echoed in his heart, each time growing in strength as a bolt of euphoria suffused him.

Wait, what was that about Janna?

"Star? Why do you think Janna and I are a thing?"

"Well, Janna said…"

Marco merely raised an eyebrow in response.

"Wait, she lied?" Star gasped, before giggling "She's such a… a… scoundrel!"

"Did she set you up with Jackie too?"

"Oh my corn! She did!" Star and Marco laughed together, for the first time in way too long, to be honest.

"So wait, does that mean, that you, that you…" Star probed hopefully.

"Yes." Marco affirmed, looking into her eyes "I love you, Star Butterfly. Even when we were separated, I still loved you. I don't know how to stop."

With those words, Star crushed him in another hug, this time tightly wrapping her arms around him. Then she pulled back and asked "Kiss me."

Star wasn't sure what she did wrong. Things had been going so well, so incredibly, wonderfully well. Marco was safe and in her arms, and he somehow, still loved her, and wanted to be with her. She had her best friend back and more.

So why did, when she asked him to kiss him, did he look so pained? Why was he looking down at… oh.

He was looking down at the body of this world's version of her, and he was still grieving for her. Star wanted to weep at the intensity of emotion he felt for her. "Oh, Marco." She tried to comfort him, bringing a hand to his cheek "Do you want to talk about it?"

His hand took hers, and he brought it to his lips, kissing it softly. "She… she was afraid, and alone, and hurt." He sniffled "She… she asked me to kiss her before she... left. I was _holding_ her."

"I know it doesn't help much, but… at least you were there. I know how much you just being there would have helped her." As she said this, one of her hands went to wipe his tears away one at a time.

"We should bury her." Marco said. "Wait, isn't cremating more traditional?"

"So knowledgeable." Star teased "And yeah, Queens are normally cremated."

"We'll need to see if Eclipsa's escaped. And find the high commission and revive them."

"Mmmmhhhm."

"Except for Omnitraxus."

Star chuckled "Bastard. But we might need him to get back."

"Couldn't you just do it?"

"Well, I could, but I'd _probably_ get lost. I was able to follow you with our bond." Oh yeah, she needed to tell him about that too.

"What?"

"You know, the blood moon? Apparently it's a real thing and it's bound our souls together for eternity or something."

A look of comprehension spread across his face "Oh. Well I guess it's a good thing I love you, then." As he said this, Marco snuggled in closer to her, tucking his head against her shoulder.

Star giggled "I love you too." God, it felt good to say that, just like it felt good to hold him. It felt _right_ , like this was where she belonged.

They didn't stray far from each other for the rest of the day. They worked mostly in silence, piling up wood and propping her… body (corn, that was weird to think about) atop it. After Star lit the pyre ablaze, Marco turned and folded himself back into her- seeking comfort she was all too willing to give.

"I can't lose you again, Star." He croaked "I don't think I could survive it."

"You won't" She promised fervently, looking into his eyes "I'm here, Marco, here to stay. Whatever happens, whatever comes, we can beat it- together."

"Together." Marco affirmed, and then their lips met. They kissed, softly, sweetly, lovingly.

Finding the high commission, dealing with Eclipsa and Omnitraxus and whoever else was left… that could wait. Marco and Star spent the rest of the night holding each other, until they drifted off to sleep together.

* * *

"Look, I'm sorry Tom, but I don't think this is quite _legal._ " Hekapoo told him skeptically.

"Well, someone needs to lead Mewni while Star's gone." Tom replied "And as far as anyone knows, I'm her fiancé, so it should logically be me." Tom, along with Star's circle of advisors- Rhombulus, Hekapoo, Sir Stabby, Steven, and Buff Frog, were meeting in Star's council room.

It had been two days since she had disappeared.

"Except you're not her fiancé." Sir Stabby noted.

"Well, does anyone have a better idea?" Tom challenged the room at large "If there isn't some semblance of leadership, the kingdom could fall apart.".

"Are you sure you're up to task?" Buff Frog asked him "You've got good heart and good head on shoulders, but do you think you can lead country?"

"I… I don't know." Tom admitted "But I guess I'll need to learn eventually."

He'd been putting that off again and again. Always with an excuse- he'd have advisors, it would be years before he'd be needed to lead the underworld, he could handle it. But it was time that Tom faced it- he was woefully unprepared for the task before. "Look, I don't intend on _actually_ ruling Mewni. I figure we can work together on that until Star gets back. But at least I can be a figurehead."

That was the other thing Tom needed to face. He had no way of knowing that Star or Marco would ever be coming back. It was possible he'd never see them again. But it wasn't a possibility he wanted to think about, ever. Star and Marco would be back. There was no way that whatever dimension Omnitraxus sent them to could beat them when they were together.

Seeing no protests, Tom continued. "So look, there's a lot of issues that we're facing right now. I guess I'm opening up the floor to suggestions, concerns, compliments."

"We've still got the giant crystal of Omni in the time dimension still." Rhombulus piped in. "He's just way too big to move!"

"Maybe a little more urgent than that." Tom suggested.

"Well, at least Mina's stopped attacking." Steven added in.

"Without Omnitraxus' portals, she'd be a sitting duck." Hekapoo concluded "And if we'd gotten our act together before now, we probably could have taken care of her already."

"There's still-" Steven was interrupted, however by something spectacular. Right in front of them, reality bent and warped until it ripped open. Marco and Star, Tom's two best friends, were unceremoniously deposited on the floor of the council room.

Everyone just stated at them in shock, unsure of how to react to their sudden appearance. Star righted herself elegantly and dusted herself off, and said as if nothing unusual had just happened "Well, looks like everyone's here. Sorry we're late!"

Tom's eyes drifted down to their hands, which were clasped in each other, and he knew. He cared for both of them, but seeing them together was too much for him to bear. He knew that Marco would understand him taking some time for himself, and he hoped Star would. So with a sad, wistful sigh, he turned and left.

Tom went back home, to the underworld. He crashed into his bed. _The same one he and Star used to share._ Maybe he should burn it. Yeah, just dump it straight into a volcano. Get himself a whole new room that didn't remind him of Star or Marco.

Somehow that didn't feel like the solution to his problems.

He had no idea how long his thoughts whirled around chaotically in his mind, before he was drawn from his stupor by the buzzing of his phone.

Hm, it was Janna. They were never particularly close, but any friend of Star and Marco's sort of automatically became his friend as well.

 _Hey, I heard about what happened with Star. You wanna hang out?_

 _Would I be hanging out with you, or Jackie?_ By now he'd heard of Janna's tendency to set people up for heart to hearts with her friend. Tom wasn't sure hanging out with Marco's ex-girlfriend was the best look for him right now. Janna though, certainly had an edge… a rebellious streak that appealed to him.

 _Only one way to find out ;)_

Tom sighed. Did he really want to spend time anyone right now? Did he really want to be alone?

He had to face it; he wasn't going to be spending nearly as much time with his two best friends. Maybe getting to know other people was a good idea.

 _Fine. I'm curious, wanna hang in the underworld?_

 _You don't have to ask me twice._

* * *

"So do you think that world's Omnitraxus is just as much a bastard as this one's?" Hekapoo asked.

"Honestly, I don't know." Marco shrugged. "We couldn't exactly move on him immediately, since he was the only way we'd get back. We let that world's Hekapoo, Rhombulus, and Eclipsa know about what he did in our world, so hopefully they'll be able to keep an eye on him."

"Well, muscles, I have to admit sometimes you can still surprise me." Hekapoo teased "I mean I never would have expected you to threaten and attack me. It brings me back to the good old days."

"I'm _really_ sorry about that." Marco apologized profusely. Even though her teasing told him she'd already forgiven him, he still felt awful about thinking that she'd betray him.

Hekapoo responded by slapping him in the back of the head, eliciting a sharp cry from Marco and leaving a patch of scorched off hair. "There, now we're even."

"Er, Marco, sir?" It was Stephen, Star's former assistant.

"Hey, what's up?" Marco responded casually. Bluntly telling him to be less formal hadn't phased him, so Marco had taken to trying a different tactic around him.

"Queen Star has asked for you."

"Thanks. Why don't you go and study that math textbook I got you and go over a few of the practice problems in Chapter 3. Once Star and I are done, I'll go over some of the stuff with you."

After Stephen, hurried off, Hekapoo raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "Training your replacement."

Marco smiled coyly "Not at all. He's not Star's assistant anymore."

"Oh?"

"He's mine."

While he was making his way to Star's bedroom, Marco was surprised when he ran into Kelly. "Marco!" She squeaked.

Marco did his best to school his features. He really didn't know where things stood between them. Last they'd talked, she'd basically said she no longer wanted to be friends and cut all contact. But the last time they saw each other, back when they were planning on intercepting Mina's raid, she had kept shooting him tearful glances.

"Hey, Kelly." Marco replied neutrally. He considered striking up conversation, but he really did need to get to Star and he wasn't sure how things could be repaired between him and Kelly. Honestly he wondered if it was best if they did go their separate ways for now. She needed space to get over him, and he knew if she kept hanging out with him it'

"Wait!" Kelly stopped him with a hand on his forearm, which Marco awkwardly pulled away from. "I know you've got a lot of other stuff going on, but I just wanted to talk to you, just a little bit."

"Alright Kelly" Marco sighed "What do you want to talk about?"

"I'm sorry." She confessed "Look, I shouldn't have acted that way when you… rejected me. I was being a jerk and I didn't realize it until Janna kicked some sense into me."

"It's alright, Kelly. It wasn't a fair situation to you either." He understood where she was coming from, extraordinarily well, and had never blamed her for how she reacted, even if it had hurt him.

"Thanks." She said, before continuing more heavily "B-but, I think I need to take a break for this, us being friends." She'd spoken very deliberately, and it sounded like she'd rehearsed this speech in her head a thousand times- which was exactly what Marco had done when he'd broken things off with Star.

"I understand." Marco said solemnly, though inside he honestly felt relieved. Really, it was probably the best decision for both of them right now, and he was glad that Kelly could see it too. "I guess I'll be seeing you, eventually."

Marco walked away too quickly to hear Kelly's sad response.

"Yeah. Eventually."

Marco was at the door to her room, when conversation on the other side stopped him.

"I know what you did, Higgs." Star said sternly.

"What I did?" The girl was clearly nervous, despite her legendary bravado.

"Oh yes, Marco told me _everything_."

Shit. He'd told her about how Higgs had been the one that had convinced him to leave, but he didn't think she'd actually get retribution for it. He was prepared to intervene when he spotted the look in Star's eyes, and he relaxed.

"I-I'm very sorry." Higgs mumbled "I didn't think- oof!" Her half-baked apology was cut off by Star drawing her into a tight hug.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome?"

Star returned to a respectable distance and regarded her knight "Without you, Marco and I might never have gotten together. You made Marco realize that he should care for himself too. So yes, thank you. However," Her tone turned dangerous "If you ever make Marco question how much I need him again, you will regret it."

Higgs, for once, seemed properly chastised "I understand."

At this point, Marco decided to make his presence known "Hey Star, you asked for me?"

Star's demeanor shifted in an instant, and Star joyfully launched herself at him, wrapped her arms and legs around him, and showered kisses on his face.

While they were 'greeting' each other, Higgs beat a hasty retreat. Star returned to her feet and took his hands in hers as she asked "So I guess you heard all of that."

"Yeah." Marco admitted.

"Spying leads to crying, Marco." She teased.

Marco chuckled good naturedly "Well, how about I make it up to you?"

Star grinned flirtatiously "Oh? I'm eager to hear what you have in mind."

As tempting as it was to forgo business and just kiss her again (and again and again) he knew there was a time and a place for it "Well, I figured out how to solve our food shortage. We can trade for it."

Without Omnitraxus propping her up, Mina had been hilariously easy to subdue, but the aftereffects of Omnitraxus' machinations were still being felt. Thankfully, Marco had been able to find a market that was awash in surplus corn.

"Wait, really? But I thought I checked with all of the neighboring kingdoms. Most of them, we trade our corn to _them_."

"Well, I'm guessing you didn't check Earth, did you?" Yeah, there were a lot of complications with that. They'd have to officially open up diplomatic channels with Earth governments, which had literally never been done before. And likely, the trade would be in exchange for some manner of magically enchanted objects, which again, would be a game changer for Earth. But at the same time, he knew that countries like the United States had massive corn surpluses. It was too good to pass up.

"Marco…" Star blinked in amazement "You're a genius!" With her proclamation, she leapt forward again, capturing his lips with hers.

Okay, Marco conceded, the kingdom could wait, at least for a little bit.

* * *

 **A/N:** Well, that's the end. Thank you to everyone who's reviewed and offered their support, it really helped me plow through moments where I wasn't feeling inspired. I hope this ending satisfied you guys. I did leave a few loose ends, and while I've had a few people asking for a sequel, at the moment I don't really have the inspiration for it. I do, however, have plans for another SvtFoE story, so keep an eye out for that!

Anyway, as always let me know what you think!


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